;or the East Malaysians in the CEC do not push for 100% disbursements of wealth generated by East Malaysia (rather than the 15% touted by DAP as ‘equality’ or even worse 5% from BN which is mostly pocketed by term limitless and nepotistic as well as corrupted politicians), what East Malaysia will have here is a CEC of puppets controlled by shadow players in the background of tem limitless nepotists taking 1 million in taxpayer monies every term they get from the Rakyat. The policy NOT the racial makeup determines a political party’s value, and from the above reasons, DAP is a USELESS political party good at showing token ethnicity but not actual policy (think pro ISA legal beagle Kasiviswanathan Shanmugan of PAP or the recent spate of firings of Indians from DAP). Nice talk but lies and bad politics that forget the promises they won GE13 by.

The construction of the RM40 million road connecting Ba Kelalan to Bario in Sarawak, at the cost of an essential water catchment area has angered local villagers.

KUCHING: Angry villagers in Ba’Kelalan have threatened the Malaysian Royal Army Engineers Regiment with a court injunction if they persist in building the Ba’kelalan-Bario road.

“If need be, we will apply for a court injunction to stop the army contractors from proceeding with the road construction,” said Baru Bian, a lawyer and Ba’Kelalan assemblyman.

Bian said that he had written to the chief of the Armed Forces that the villagers did not want the road (Ba’Kelalan-Bario road) as it passes Sungai Muda, which is a water catchment area.

The villagers have instead proposed that road be built from Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario. This would then safeguard the catchment area.

“The villagers have objected to the road being built through Sungai Muda as it would affect the water catchment area at Sungai Muda,” he said.

Bian, who is Sarawak PKR chief, said he was disappointed with army’s reply that only a few people were against the road construction while the majority of the villagers were for it.

“The folks in Ba Kelalan wants to protect Sungai Muda because its destruction would affect the lives of about 2,000 villagers from Punan Kelalan, Long Muda, Long Kumap, Long Langai, Long Lemutut, Buduk Nur, and SK Ba’Kelalan, an international award winning school,” he said.

In the letter, the army also said that the few people who rejected the road were the supporters of the Bian and that it reflected a very bad image.

“I have submitted a list of 152 villagers who are against the construction, and I will be calling for a big meeting in Ba’Kelalan on Dec 16, 2012,” said Bian.

“If the army still persists in carrying out the construction, we will apply for an injunction. It is typical of the BN mentality to blame the problem on the opposition.”

What about NCR rights?

On the reason given by the army that it is a ‘security road’ having its strategic importance to the forward operation base along the border to Lapo Bunga Cam, Bian said that it appeared that the army refused to listen to the people.

“Are they are serving the people or are they serving their own interest?” he asked.

He also questioned whether the road was properly planned as there was no EIA report and did not appear to involve the state authorities.

“And what about the native customary rights land of the people? Have they been excised out? My suspicion is that the project is improperly done and I urge the army to listen to the people,” he said.

Last month the villagers set up a blockade at Pa’Patar and Arur Lutut which is near the water catchment area called Sungai Muda.

The villagers claimed that contractors had already cleared about a kilometre stretch of the jungle despite their disagreement to have the road built through Sungai Muda.

The villagers told reporters last month that the army had explained to them that they opted for the Sungai Muda route because it is 20km shorter than the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route, and thus would incur less cost.

The villagers, however, did not buy that story because the Belingi-Lepo Bunga-Bario route is already there and merely needed small improvements, such as culverts.

The construction of the RM42 million Ba Kelalan-Bario Road started on Oct 1 and is expected to be completed by Sept 2014.

Defence minister Ahmad Zaidi Hamidi said army would implement the project under the Blue Ocean Strategy, and the road was a continuation of the 75km Long Luping-Ba Kelalan Road which was completed in September last year.

Does the above NPP warning ring any bells? (Please warn to remove if offensive . . . the post will be removed if so . . . )

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Good work but please do get some busybody QC from England to front you guys or make sure the UN gets minutes and video footage of every step taken by Orang Asli here. At the sme time don’t get too close to the colonial English. Replacing one Tuan with another Colonial White Raja is no different and will result in the same nonsense. Ask for equality in disbursements of wealth generated from east Malaysia, or demand secession then independence at the UN!

US Opposition Leaders have slammed Malaysia and PM Najib for pursuing the “politics of ambivalence”, urging Putrajaya to drop its “aggressively” pro-Islamist stance and meet strife-stricken ASEAN nations at least half-way over the long-standing BUMIPUTRA APARTHEID issue, which he argued was a key factor for the growing anti-Malaysian sentiment around the ASEAN world.

“People don’t hate Malays because of rights or they are Malays but because of the contradictions, the injustices. How can you expect any woman or man who have lived in the era of human rights to accept the crimes committed in Malaysia against Malaysian non-Malay minorities,” USA said during an hour-long interview with Israel-based TV conducted in Tel Aviv on November 20 and aired on December 12

“It is important for Malaysia not to take a blinkered view. [For example] they can choose to disagree with Arabia but they must engage with Arabia…we talk about nuclear capability, the non-muslim world is saying why not to Israel and ‘yes’ to USA. Why ‘yes’ to Pakistan and ‘no’ to India?

“[This is the] politics of ambivalence. On one hand, you talk about democracy and on the other you work with the Lim Kit Siangs and the Anwar Ibrahims and the Karpal Singhs. There is a vast contradiction… Malaysia is perceived to be condoning the excesses and this is continuing mind you.

“You must have consistent coherent policies so that people can trust you.

Anwar better than Najib but still an under-performer in ASEAN policy

Obama, a well-respected figure who frequently tours and lectures around the Western world, minced no words when he questioned how Malaysia if it truly “challenges itself as the bastion of democracy and freedom” could close an eye to the mass killings and plight of the innocent, especially women and children, in the Israel.

He urged Anwar, whom he rated as being “better than Najib”, to break new ground in Malaysian foreign policy by putting greater pressure ad responsibility on Putrajaya to come to the negotiating table with the Western nations and on fairer terms.

“My stand is he’s better than Najin in terms of rhetoric in his speech but not in the actions, not in the foreign policy, not in his response to the apartheid and discrimination in Malaysia. This is totally unacceptable.”

Aggressive racists can be reined in by Malaysia

When asked if Anwar or the Malaysia could rein in the Najib administration, which has been accused of preferring military action rather than dialogue, Obama pointed out that Malaysia supplied the bulk of financial aid to racists.

“Of course they (Malaysia) can, they can do it in Putrajaya, they can do it in Thailand. I am not suggesting they go and conquer Indonesia which I opposed the war in Indonesia. But the Malaysia wields a lot influence. Putrajaya is the largest recipient of aid from Malaysia, huge, and the second very very low is Singapore. So can we say there is no influence? We are not even asking Malaysia to influence what is improper,” he said.

“Without the Malaysia, Putrajaya will not be able to move.”

A practising non-Muslim, Obama also took to task the OIC as well as some parts of the Western world including the current US government for failing to take stronger measures that could contribute to a more sustainable solution for Israel due to fear of offending Palestine.

“The position of the Palestinian can be considered to be extreme in the sense that all excess and all transgressions of international laws, all plunders and including the Occupation of Israel seem to be condoned accepted and that seems to be the main contentious issue not only in the non-Muslim world but the world that believes in freedom and justice. That seems absolutely so difficult. Many of my friends in the administration and past administrations in Malaysia tell me, Obama you can debate with them, you can argue with them, you can disagree with them on every subject except the Israeli-Palestinian issue,” he said.

“I think the Palestinians are misreading the situation purely and plainly because of their complete arrogance of power but my criticism of the USA government’s attitude is that nothing has been done except for resolutions and the resolutions seem to ignore Malaysia so we must also check on the Security Council and Malaysia because without Malaysian assistance, the Bumiputra Apartheid will not move in that manner (to attack Israel).

Don’t give up: Vital for the US to engage with the Bumiputra

The un-bespectacled Obama, a former Senator whom many USa watchers rate as having a better than even chance of becoming his country’s next Nelson Mandela in ending apartheid in Malaysia, also urged Middle Eastern nations not to give in to frustration but to keep trying to engage with the Malasyia despite Malaysia’s “hypocrisy” and refusal to rein Bumiputras.

“My position on Malaysia is that you should engage with the Malaysia . I meet them, I engage with them but I also know the hypocrisies [behind] some of their policies. In USA, they [the current Obama administraton] cannot cheat in the elections and Malaysia’s apartheid Bumiputras can be muted

“But Malaysia remains an important regional player. It has its ideal which many of us share on democracy and freedom and justice and if you have the leadership that comes to accept this and has consistent, coherent policies, non-Muslims are not blikered in their acceptance.

“Just stop the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA, why is it so difficult for a country that is challenges itself as the bastion of Islamic values and freedom to say, ‘whatever the excuses, stop the anti-Islamic APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA’. You can’t do that and at the same time condone the excesses of the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA on the pretext of protecting your Malaysian security.

Obama, who was accused of supporting Palestines’s right to fire rockets at Israel, slammed the government-controlled US media for twisting his words out of context and blowing up the issue to smear his prestige with non-Muslim voters ahead of a coming general election.

“There was no controversy. I met Netanyahu, the Israeli leader and he didn’t even bother to ask me for any explanation,” said Obama, who has been slapped a RM100 mil defamation lawsuit against the Malaysian newspaper owned by the opposition Pakatan party.

“I have no problems with Palestine contingent and conditional upon them keeping their citizens in the Occupied Territories… recognizing the Dewan (Malaysian Parliament) and Putrajaya and stopping the killings, the plunder, the victimization of the Israelis. What the US media did was to cancel all of that and said that I have no problems with the security of Palestine.”

Malaysia Dis-Chronicle

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The APARTHEID of Bumiputra is a failure in Human Rights, Islamic Jurisprudence and a symbol of the corrupted nature of ASEAN-form Islam in Asia that does not grant :

;as is the systematic abuse of those who wish to create spaces and equality for all. Freedom of speech or freedom of life, must not result in retaliations as some of us faced over the last decade or so, more so from supposed religious types (religion makes for false sense of entitlement in Malaysia over the atheist or agnostic or subculturist).

KUANTAN -The Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah today called on residents of Cameron Highlands to stop illegal land clearing there as this can have detrimental effects on the environment.

The Sultan said the problem had been going on for a long time and urged the state government and the local authority to tackle it.

“Maybe the district council does not have enough manpower to monitor every spot of the highlands for illegal land clearing.

“Therefore, I urge the residents of Cameron Highlands to stop illegal land clearing,” the Sultan told reporters after laying the foundation stone for the International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) Medical Faculty Hospital, near here, today.

The Sultan had earlier expressed regret over an English newspaper report on illegal land clearing for farming in Cameron Highlands which the ruler felt was blown up.

The Sultan said the people should also look at the positive developments in Cameron Highlands which had made it a renowned tourist destination even among foreign tourists.

“I want everyone regardless of race to unite and work together in developing Cameron Highlands,” he said.

IIUM president Tan Sri Sidek Hassan in his speech at the event, said the hospital, with 350 beds, would be built according to syariah standards.

“It will also have sophisticated equipment to provide specialised treatment for the people in and outside Pahang,” he said.

– Bernama

Commentator Comments :

Thursday, 13 December 2012 10:57 posted by temasik

I wonder what the Sultan of Pahang view on the following in Pahang .

1.Raub Australian Gold Mine which is alleged owned by daughter of Pahang Royalty family. The mine operation poisoned the surrounding land in Raub and many durian farmers in Raub are eager to let go of their durian farm.

2.Lynas in Kuantan – Harmful Radioactive waste can last 250 years unless u believe Mahathir’s story it is harmless.

3. tasil Cini & Bera – the once beautiful landscape now turn into a sea of yellow . again . it belongs to Royalty .

Politicians and their families, especially some people close to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her government after the latest reshuffle on October 28, rank among the richest stockholders in the country.

Appearing among the 5,737 millionaires as of September, according to a survey of investors in the Stock Exchange of Thailand by Money and Banking Journal in collaboration with professors from Chulalongkorn University, are Yingluck’s two nieces, who are daughters of her big brother and former prime minister Thaksin.

The younger niece, Paethongtarn Shinawatra, was ranked 47th with her 29-per-cent holding in SC Asset worth Bt3.46 billion (S$13.7 billion), while Pinthongta Shinawatra was 53rd with a 28-per-cent stake in the same real-estate company worth Bt3.35 billion.

They benefited from the 65-per-cent surge in SC Asset’s stock to Bt18 apiece as of September 30. This raised the Shinawatras to 27th among stock billionaire families from 30th in the previous year.

Pojaman na Pombejra, Thaksin’s ex-wife, fell to 502nd this year from 467th although her 2.8-per-cent stake in the family business accounted for Bt333.11 million, up 50 per cent.

Pongthep Thepkanjana, deputy prime minister and education minister, has his wife and daughter on the list. Yapa was ranked 244th with a 2.1-per-cent interest in Kiatnakin Bank worth Bt795.50 million, while his wife Panida was 264th with a 1.9-per-cent stake worth Bt728.08 million in the bank.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung has two sons on the list – Artharn at 1,811st with a 2.6-per-cent stake worth Bt58.28 million in Unimit Engineering, and Duang at 2,213rd with 1.8 per cent or Bt38.60 million in the same company.

Heading up the stock-exchange billionaires were the same faces. Thongma Vijitpongpun, president and chief executive officer of Pruksa Real Estate, was the richest for the third straight year with equities worth Bt23.5 billion. Most of his stocks (58.6 per cent worth Bt23.31 billion) were in his company, with minor holdings of 1.1 per cent in Quality Houses and 0.7 per cent in Seafco.

The Maleenont family was this year’s champion for the 14th year in a row. With a 108-per-cent jump in BEC World this year, the family’s stock wealth soared by 108 per cent, or Bt36.46 billion, to Bt70.26 billion.

They were followed by the Chirathivats with Bt40.87 billion, up 92 per cent, and the Vijitpongpuns with Bt28.09 billion, up 27 per cent.

Thailand’s 40 richest people have a collective wealth of US$55 billion (Bt1.73 trillion), an increase of 22 per cent from $45 billion last year, according to Forbes magazine.

Forbes noted that many of Thailand’s wealthiest are looking to take on international rivals, on the strength of an expected 6-per-cent growth in the Thai economy this year. For a country that some outsiders see as beset by political turmoil and rural insurgency – never mind last year’s calamitous flooding – Thailand has done remarkably well by its richest.

-The Nation/Asia News Network

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Thailand has done remarkably well by its richest. And the poorest? Ethics? Nepotism? The examples of crony capitalism are startling here. Politicians who are also plutocrats are an affront to Democracy and wealth distribution, equality of citizens and the concept of a ‘shared nation’. A handful of families enjoy life for generations and sequester extreme wealth, the 99% struggle for generations and have no access to even the basics. Revolution or change of laws are needed to the maximum sequesterable wealth of the wealthiest. Quality of life is very bad for the 99% in Thailand, and the so-called poor will never have a chance to be a politician in Thailand! What we have in Thailand is feudalism effectively!

Many quarters have expressed misgivings about the sudden mushrooming of slot machines centres in Penang, despite recent clampdowns by the authorities.

Both Muslims and non-Muslims in the state said the development was worrying as many of patrons of these centres were schoolchildren and teenagers.

Harakahdaily’s observation in Bukit Mertajam has revealed scores of shoplots which had housed slot machines until recently were now back in business, attracting patrons mostly Malay Muslims.

Several residents said they suspected ‘syndicates’ behind the sudden comeback of the slot machines scourge.

Zaki, who lives at a housing estate in Bukit Mertajam, said the centres had been attracting large crowds of school students who spend their money on gambling.

“I am ashamed to see (Malay) students crowding these places. During the school holiday season, it has become their past time,” said Zaki.

Another resident, who wished to be known as Ong, said the authorities should take stern action against the operators.

“It doesn’t matter what ethnic background they come from, because these students would one day lead the nation,” he added.

-Harakahdaily

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Harakah might be exaggerating about the Malay student thing. Meanwhile, please fomally legalise the outlets to prevent further waste of manpower and money, and include normal casino card games and mahjong and dominos as well. The computer screen/slot machine and the alogarithms behind such gambling make winning less possible by the public as each computer will have a quota to win by unlike PHYSICAL cards, dice etc..

At least this is the first time we hear of non-Muslim entertainments being allowed, albeit not formally within law. DAP’s money mindedness has had an inadvertent protective effect on non-Muslim rights to gamble here, though would have been nicer if the local laws were amended for 4D outlets to offer the same PHYSICAL gambling games instead of this computer based and less than neutral chance of winning nonsense.

A senior citizen and her friend were arrested this morning after she demanded an apology from Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob for his remarks about the anti-Lynas ‘Green March’ last month.

Tuw Yin Lan, who is 71 and popularly known as Aunty Mei, was among those who had participated in the 300km walk from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur, organised by Himpunan Hijau.

When contacted, Himpunan Hijau publicity chief Lee Chean Chung said Tuw had gone to the MB’s office in the state secretariat building.

“Aunty Mei was angry with Adnan’s remark that the participants of the Green March had only walked for 200 metres,” Lee said when contacted.

“She waited outside his office from 11am. When the MB appeared, she went forward and asked him to apologise but he refused.”

She was then arrested along with Wong Chun Yuan and was taken to the Kuantan police district headquarters.

Another woman protester was also taken to the police station. However, it was later confirmed that she was not arrested.

About 20 supporters initially gathered outside the police station, while two lawyers from the local legal aid centre were on hand to provide assistance.

The number of supporters later increased to some 50 people, with some donning green T-shirts.

They were held back at first before the police eventually allowed some of them to go in.

Will answer any questions in court

At the Umno general assembly last month, Adnan had claimed that the protesters had not walked all the way as claimed.

He claimed that they had traveled “in luxury and in motorcars” and said he has no sympathy for them.

At around four o’ clock, Tuw and Wong were released from the police station after being investigated, stating they might be charged on Dec 26.

If they are not charged, the duo claimed they were told they must present themselves to the police station within 14 days.

They were interrogated by police who, they claimed, wanted to know if their actions was at the direction by someone, what were they doing and who supported them in their actions.

Both did not say much during the questioning but stated that they will answer in court if charged.

When contacted, Wong said that he and Tuw were arrested under Section 186 and 189 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions and for threat of injury to a public servant.

Malaysiakini

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Much like Malaysian minority feminists that attack men but neglect apartheid against themselves AND their men, this is what happens to people who go around using Pakatan’s method of marching and demanding apologies instead of campaigning legally and in dignity as independent candidates. Arrests. If this 71 year old does not run for election in GE13 as a 3rd force candidate, we’d all know that the geezer might be a disinfo agent of BN to distract from the lack of :

BN has the mandate to grant the above 3 items but still does not act. By the Human Rights Charter which Malaysia is a signatory or the tenets of Islam about rights of non-Muslims for Haram entertainments and equality, BN is the least sincere choice still. BN, why don’t you use that undeserved mandate and put an end to this farce of 2 part elections? Meanwhile what is the Bar Council doing? Can’t even challenge the federal Government for Article 1 of the Human Rights Charter? Useless over-educated colluders with all the undeserved resources . . . Vote 3rd Force!

When you want to get at someone who has influence and power, you have to plan and execute with precision and style in order to create maximum and lasting impact. Otherwise, it could backfire badly and you might end up hurt or even dead! That is life in the Malaysia’s take-no-enemies, an-eye-for-an-e…

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Nawawi and Stan . . . Zzz. If the election deposit which out 222 MPs refuse to lower is affordable to these guys, just shut up and run for election as a candidate against the creeps (right after winning lower the damn election candidacy deposit).

SANDAKAN — DAP does not represent ‘middle Malaysia’ or the spirit of unity of all races in Malaysia when all eight Malay DAP leaders did not garner enough votes to sit in the party’s central executive committee (CEC) during its congress yesterday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that would not happen within Barisan Nasional (BN) that practises fairness to all the races in Malaysia and had a clear direction for the country.

“We also see that DAP is not only dominated by one race, that is the Chinese, but also by a family dynasty where Lim Kit Siang received the highest vote while his son Lim Guan Eng came in second.

“Not only the Malays lose to the Chinese, but even the Indians failed to be elected to the committee,” he said when opening the Liberal Democratic Party 23rd General Assembly, here today.

Najib called on the people to continue supporting BN which practises unity under the 1Malaysia concept and which was also evident in its cabinet.

“Malaysia lies within a good partnership known as Barisan Nasional. Believeme, we (Malaysia under BN government) will go places, our economy will soar and investors will be more confident,” he said.

The prime minister also said the BN government will continue to give out assistance in various fields such as education and business in order for the country to prosper.

Meanwhile, Najib said BN was serious and honest in delivering its promisesto the people unlike leaders such as opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said during Anwar’s brief stint as acting prime minister in 1997, the former deputy prime minister under Tun Mahathir Mohamad’s administration had every opportunity to prove his worth, but took the easy way out by letting the International Monetary Fund have control over Malaysia during the economic crisis that year.

“He (Anwar) didn’t protect the country’s sovereignty… He never asked himself why he was not fit to become a prime minister,” he said.

Najib also asked for the people not to risk the future of Malaysia under Pakatan Rakyat. He said the coalition of the opposition parties had no common ideology and had no clear direction for the future of the country.

;and on that basis, could be said to be even more fundamentally flawed. BN has the mandate to grant the above now. Why does BN not act? Because BN is fundamentally flawed. Pakatan has had ZERO years in power and never had the mandate – that is why Pakatan presents a 50 year stronger challenge. Otherwise vote 3rd Force!

(The Malaysian Insider) – Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had admitted in his memoirs to interfering in police investigations into the alleged sexual dalliances linked to his one-time deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former senior policeman said today.

In his open letter, ex-Kuala Lumpur CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim questioned Home Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein’s decision to keep out of an ongoing spat between two former senior crime busters — Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Datuk Ramli Yusuff — which is seen to be jeopardising public confidence in the police force.

“If exposed that Tun Mahathir (picture)himself had deliberately or otherwise admitted in writing that it was true he had interfered in police investigations related to the ‘50 Dalil’ [50 Reasons] book, what would be the response from Hishammuddin or the prime minister?” Mat Zain said in his letter to incumbent Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, which was also copied to Hishammuddin and PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“It is hoped Hishammuddin will not say that the matter was a personal matter between Tun Mahathir and Musa Hassan and he refuses to interfere too,” he added.

The retired policeman alleged that Dr Mahathir had revealed in his autobiography, “A Doctor in the House”, published last year, that he had a direct hand in police investigations related to a book titled “50 Dalil Mengapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi Perdana Menteri” [50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Be Prime Minister] that concerned the then-deputy prime minister’s purported sexual liaisons with several men and women, including prostitutes.

“He had confidently given a guarantee that he will direct the police to bring the witnesses to Sri Perdana once again, if the chief ministers and mentris besar as well as state Umno liaison chairmen wanted to interview them.”

Malaysia’s fourth prime minister wrote that he had first been told about Anwar’s alleged homosexual activities in the early 1990s by then police chief Tun Hanif Omar.

Dr Mahathir, who ruled from 1981 to 2003, said he was then given the book “50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar IBrahim Tidak Boleh Jadi Perdana Menteri” but had initially dismissed it as a sensationalist attempt to make money.

He said in 1997 Ummi Hafilda Ali, sister of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, sent him a letter with specific allegations of sodomy against Anwar.

The former prime minister said he interviewed the girls who told him they were taken to have sex with his then deputy, who was later charged and jailed for sodomy and corruption.

Dr Mahathir wrote that they were persuaded to do so by an Indian man they knew as Nalla, likely to be Datuk K.S. Nallakarupan, then a close associate of Anwar who has since fallen out with the opposition leader.

Dr Mahathir said he then called Umno leaders including mentris besar and chief ministers to Sri Perdana to brief them about Anwar’s alleged affairs and showed them pictures of the witnesses.

Mat Zain said today that the former prime minister’s statements in the book were “clear proof that not only did he interfere in investigations, but also gave certain orders that were not appropriate to Musa Hassan, until it is believed influenced the overall outcome of the investigations”.

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The judiciary has been unable to act even after a dearth, anti-trust and collusion evidence. The legal fraternity world wide should blackball Malaysia’s judiciary and give support to Musa if Musa decides to take out the ILLEGAL AP law writing (ask any legal body worldwide, they will tell you that Vehicular AP is illegal), failed shipping nepotism bailing, political nepotism causing mamak plutocrat politician Iskandar Kutty Jr..

(Free Malaysia Today) – STAR is clear in pushing its Borneo Agenda for Sabah and Sarawak, saying it’s time for Borneo-centric policies, and that the Malayan Agenda is no longer acceptable.

State Reform Party (STAR) Sabah chairman Jeffrey Kitingan is adamant that PKR is the opposition’s version of Umno and will lord over the people in Sabah and Sarawak if it comes to power at federal level.

Jeffrey, who is also the president of the United Borneo Front (UBF), equated both the peninsula-based political parties as Malayan in nature and unsuitable for the two Borneo states.

“PKR and Umno are the same like the old colonialists. They come to exploit us to get into power to eventually lord over us. PKR should concentrate on winning the seats in the Peninsula which is already more than 75% of the total seats.

“It is their Malaya Agenda to control and colonise Sabah and Sarawak, whereas our Borneo Agenda is just the opposite, to free us from this choking over-lording over Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

(The Star) – DAP has adopted its Central Executive Committee’s (CEC) resolution on the one candidate, one seat policy.

DAP chairman Karpal Singh said one person should contest only one seat, but there could be exceptions on case-by-case basis based on the party’s strategy.

“The resolution has been adopted,” said Karpal, who had wanted such a policy to provide opportunity to candidates of calibre to contest.

Other resolutions from branches that were tabled and adopted include calls on party leaders to stop openly attacking the party to the point of jeopardising its image.

Perak New Village branch chairman Lim Soo Chong said attacks motivated by personal interest should stop because the party did not belong to any individual.

Another resolution adopted called on leaders to attend party functions and not to demand five-star accommodations.

Six other resolutions could not be tabled because representatives from the branches that proposed them were not present.

On a proposal by Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim to impose a direct election system in the party, Karpal said the party constitution needed to be amended for it to be adopted.

“It requires a major amendment to the constitution. If the members feel strongly about direct election, then it should be considered.”

Although Karpal had said the delegates were free to bring up any issue, none of them brought up contentious issues involving Pakatan Rakyat.

Issues such as the gender ruling in salons in Kelantan, “khalwat” summonses issued to non-Muslims in Kelantan and the demolition of a religious altar in a private home in Selangor were not touched.

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The only good news so far about DAP. Double posts mean salaries of up to 1 million yearly – which Rakyat would tolerate this? Where are those MP asset declarations and Local Council Elections as promised? Nepotist, crony capitalist . . .

You cannot create doubts in the minds of the people by making such sweeping statements without substantiation. No amount of denials by the minister or his cohorts is going to clear the reservations of the rakyat unless and until you are willing to be specific.

WHEN Tan Sri Ismail Omar was appointed inspector-general of police two years ago, many had expected him to shape up an already beleaguered police force. From rising crime rates to public order, he had his work cut out for him. Besides, the internal bickering between his predecessor, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and the former commercial crimes chief, Datuk Ramli Yusoff, turned into what appeared to be a bare-fisted brawl. With Tan Sri Robert Phang in the fray, a battle royale has ensued.

After months of anxiety, worry and concern, Ramli was acquitted of charges accusing him of misuse of power.

While the civil suit which was filed by Ramli has yet to start, everyone thought the dust had settled and Ismail would be able to focus on reducing crime rates and other issues of public interest.

But last week, Musa came to the fore with his claims of “interference from politicians” and a host of other claims, allegations and assertions, this time accusing Phang of having had a hand in the transfer of a senior police officer.

Why now? If indeed there was interference, shouldn’t Musa have thrown the Police Act in the face of the people behind the interference and ask them to mind their own business? Was he not the key witness in the trial of a former deputy prime minister who was charged with “interfering with police business”?

Why now? Did Musa consciously stop investigating crimes just because the call came from Putrajaya?

Why now? There were no reasons or provocateurs behind Musa’s sudden outburst and hence why out of the blue, call for a press conference?

Why now? Having yet to answer the charges made by Ramli in his various court affidavits, does Musa now want us to believe his hands were tied in the past?

Why now? Musa retired two years ago and if he was unhappy with the events during his tenure, shouldn’t he have voiced out his views at the handing-over ceremony to his successor?

Why now? Musa had all the opportunity to offer advice to his successor, Ismail who had been his deputy. Is he trying to undermine the IGP by describing Ismail as a “yes man”?

Why now? Who was the Tan Sri who came to you with a stack of summonses? Shouldn’t he have been shown the door and told that the law takes it course?

Such claims have yet again forced the public to form their own views and opinions on the impartiality of the police force. People are wondering if the police pander to the wishes of politicians or if they go by the book in the application and enforcement of the law.

Going by Musa’s assertions, people who have committed murder, robbery and other heinous crimes are walking on our streets on the basis of phone calls from politicians?

These claims may have some truth in them, but making statements without substantiation would be akin to self-appointed do-gooders and instantly-created NGOs demanding all kinds of explanations from the opposition.

Musa did not provide one instance where the minister or a politician had interfered in police investigations. Except for saying that a titled politician turned up in his office to sort out summonses, nothing more specific was revealed.

If indeed the police acceded to directives and instruction from higher up, are we to assume that the police closed the file on the Balkis fiasco where funds totalling almost RM10 million were transferred illegally, which borders on breach of trust?

Are we to say that the police also closed the files on the overseas money transfers that were carried out illegally through money changers although there were prima facie cases against them?

No, Musa. You cannot create doubts in the minds of the people by making such sweeping statements without substantiation. No amount of denials by the minister or his cohorts is going to clear the reservations of the rakyat unless and until you are willing to be specific – incidences, names, dates and times – when such interference took place.

R. Nadeswaran maintains that the police should be impartial and that any charges made must be backed up with evidence. Comments: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Musa is testing the water, and all of the above if ‘fired’ will immediately remove any caveats of neutrality Musa has that will allow Musa to back down, Musa wouldn’t sign their own death warrant. Musa needs to test the waters to see how many supporters Musa has or the public sentiment which will decide if Musa will survive AFTER ‘firing’, if not acting as bait on UMNO’s beha;f to sabotage the whistleblowers – who in either case can count on general discontent to topple BN that Musa may try to cash in on rather than support a hated and racist political party. This is not the first or last time a retired IGP enters politics (think Thaksin’s early days before PAP converted the Policeman in Thaksin Shinawatra into a corrupted bureaucrat who has against all principles against nepotism ingenuously acted as if Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra’s presence in the 3rd world mob minded country – the Red Shirts at least – as normal, while refusing to attend court . . . ).

How does being a 3rd Force candidate, if not independent and neutral MP sound to Musa? BN is corrupt, PR is selfish. BN is clearly racist (and somewhat nepotistic) and PR might be racist (and very nepotistic), or quite prepared to be self serving by using racism as a weapon of control. Devil and deep blue sea, how about NEITHER. Go independent or be 3rd Force! Help the rakyat learn that the hegelian dialectic of a supposed 2 party system might still make no difference by offering an alternative 3rd and by extension teaching the Rakyat to think. An ex-IGP (much like the failure ex-Bar President who refuses to run for election but creates chaos on the streets by inciting rallies to no purpose), has the ethos to run as a 3rd Force MP for certain . . .

The individual analyses of the 16 by-elections in the book, contributed by about a dozen observers ranging from journalists to researchers to political scientists, reveal how inept the EC has been, especially in not attending to electoral roll irregularities and preventing abuse of public institutions and corrupt practices.

We often hear of electoral fraud and unfair election practices but what do they really mean? What forms does electoral fraud usually take? What constitute unfair practices and how have they surfaced?

Beyond that, what are the measures that need to be taken to ensure that Malaysian elections are free and fair so that this vital aspect of our democracy is truly well-served and our vote for the candidate or party we support is not made a mockery of?

A new book called Democracy at Stake?: Examining 16 By-elections in Malaysia, 2008-2011, published by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, answers our questions and collates our concerns into a handy and comprehensive compact.

Edited by Wong Chin Huat and Soon Li Tsin, it analyses the 16 by-elections that have been held since the 12th general election according to such relevant categories as how free, fair and clean they were; the freedom and quality of the campaigning; the political parties’ access to media; corrupt practices that were perpetrated; how impartial or otherwise the public institutions were; the amount of campaign money spent; the electoral roll; and the polling process.

Wong, who is in my opinion one of the sharpest political analysts we have, sets the standard for the conduct of elections in his introductory article.

Well-researched and replete with references from many documented sources, it explains why electoral fraud is wrong (“Even if one person is disenfranchised … even if one vote is rigged, democracy is damaged because political equality is compromised to favour the ones who play foul”) and explains what we as citizens should expect of a free and fair election.

The most fundamental of expectations are that we “must be able to register as voters with minimal cost and trouble” and be able to vote “without much difficulty”, and our votes “must be counted with integrity”. By that token, we must also expect that the electoral roll “includes all citizens who are eligible to vote” and “nobody else”.

Wong, however, declares that the electoral rolls in Malaysia “fail on both accounts”. This is partly because as of March 2012, three million eligible citizens are still not registered voters. But what we may find more disturbing is his revelation that the electoral rolls “include many names who [sic] should not be there in the first place, such as illegally enfranchised foreigners, deceased voters, multiply-registered voters, voluntarily and involuntarily transferred voters who are non-residents in the constituency”.

It is amusing to note that entries like Kampung Baru and a Police Station at Kampung Kerinchi are registered voters on the electoral rolls.

Wong proposes synchronising the electorate database maintained by the Election Commission (EC) with the citizenry database of the National Registration Department (NRD) to minimise errors and allow for corrections to be made continually.

Although he does not say so explicitly, it would also facilitate automatic voter registration, one of the eight demands of Bersih, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections of which Wong is a steering committee member. The synchronisation of databases would alert the EC to instances of citizens turning 21 and attaining eligibility for voting.

Another disturbing point Wong raises concerns the legal impediments to transparency in the procedure for correction of errors. Section 9A of the Election Act 1958 prevents the electoral rolls from being challenged in court, and Regulation 25 of the Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations gives “unchecked power” to the EC to “correct any errors free from any public scrutiny”.

This point is particularly pertinent in regard to the Malaysian EC because the public has lost much confidence in the commission’s ability and inclination to be independent and neutral in the conduct of its duty. One important measure that the public needs to take, therefore, is to lobby for the EC to be truly independent and neutral.

If this were achieved, we can be better assured that other conditions necessary for free and fair elections will be facilitated.

These would include what Wong describes as allowing citizens to make “informed decisions after deliberation” from the “availability of information from all perspectives”.

As such, there should be campaign freedom – a reasonable period for campaigning once an election is called; free airtime for all contesting parties on State-owned broadcast media like RTM and unbiased coverage in Bernama as well as private-owned media, like Utusan Malaysia, The Star, Sin Chew, Media Prima’s TV stations, etc; and no restrictions like those imposed in three by-elections at which the Home Ministry banned campaigners from “mentioning (a) Altantuya Shaariibuu, the Mongolian model cum interpreter whose murder was linked to Prime Minister (PM) Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, and (b) the role of the Perak Palace in the state’s constitutional crisis”.

The impartiality of public institutions should also be upheld. This includes no abuse of government machinery by the ruling party, such as using official cars and helicopters for party campaigning or, worse, announcing development projects like in the Hulu Selangor “buy-election” when BN offered about RM136 million in projects, payments and compensations while the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor State Government offered about RM27.6 million’s worth.

And of course there should also be no pork barrelling at the hustings, the most famous example being the “I help you, you help me” offer of RM5 million for flood mitigation that Najib made to the Rejang Park voters in the Sibu by-election in return for their support of the BN candidate.

Nor should there be outright vote-buying, as in the alleged giving out of RM100 cash to each Chinese voter at a polling station during the Merlimau by-election.

It is the duty of the EC to report such transgressions but, unfortunately, it has not been fulfilling that duty.

By and large, the individual analyses of the 16 by-elections in the book, contributed by about a dozen observers ranging from journalists to researchers to political scientists, reveal how inept the EC has been, especially in not attending to electoral roll irregularities and preventing abuse of public institutions and corrupt practices.

In the Permatang Pauh by-election, for example, a voter was turned away from the polling station because on the electoral roll, he was said to be dead.

Furthermore, 949 voters were discovered to have disappeared from the constituency’s electoral roll. As the media reported the issue and the EC’s deputy chairman could not explain the disappearance, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called on the EC to investigate it. However, “no finding was revealed to the public”.

In Bukit Selambau, election watchdog Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (MAFREL) backed the Opposition’s claim that more than 60% of the voters in a housing estate were phantom voters, but the EC merely dismissed it.

In fact, the picture that emerges from the 16 analyses is that many of the complaints and allegations made during the by-elections were not resolved afterwards.

On the whole, as the editors sum up in the final chapter, “the integrity of the electoral rolls in Malaysia is highly questionable”. Citing extensively from research done by political scientist Ong Kian Ming, they elaborate on unexplained deletions of names; unaccounted-for additions; high number of voters registered under the same address; unusually high increase of military/police voters (most markedly in Lembah Pantai, currently a Pakatan Rakyat seat held by Nurul Izzah Anwar, which has seen a 1,024% growth of such voters); and other manifestations.

EC Chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof has declared that Malaysia has “the cleanest electoral rolls in the world”, with problematic registrations amounting to only 42,051 names, but according to Ong’s research findings, the number is closer to 3 million.

Whomever you choose to believe, the outlook is far from rosy. The editors believe the irregularities are caused by deliberate fraud rather than administrative or clerical errors. They consider the state we’re in an “Orwellian absurdity”.

On our part, we the public should be pressing for accountability from the EC and other related authorities. Although Democracy at Stake? does not suggest how we could go about doing this, it focuses attention on a serious issue of our political life.

It’s up to us now to protect our democratic right. Taking to the streets through the Bersih rallies has been done and resulted in some headway, but this is unlikely the way to achieve the ultimate goal.

We need to think of other ways to shake the powers that be to get the real democracy we deserve.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Could the information on registered voters be easier to access? With a few million citizens on the internet trawling the irregularities and the system suggested on :

;could help where the issue of 1000% rise in voter listings or buildings being registered as voters, or repeats in names occur should easily be fereted out with the suggested system. Who needs voting machines?

I really do not know whether to laugh or to cry – the standard of Democratic Principals in Malaysia has really fallen to a disgraceful and abysmal low after four decades of DAP-PakatanRakyat rule.

Last week, Malaysia suffered national and international humiliation when the Trends in International Judiciaryematics and Police Study ( TIMSS) 2011 reports were released, as the nation’s ranking in eighth-grade Judiciary fell from 20th in 2007 to 26th in 2011 while its ranking in Police fell by an even greater margin, from 21st in 2007 to 32nd in 2011. Our average Judiciarys score fell from 474 in 2007 to 440 and our average Police score fell by an even greater degree from 471 in 2007 to 426 in 2011, both far below the international average for both subjects in TIMSS 2011.

What is even worse, Malaysia also suffered the shame of being only one out of 6 countries out of 42 countries participating in the Judiciarys study and 45 countries participating in the Police study to see falls in both our Judiciarys and Police scores and ranking! Most of the other countries either improved their scores and rankings or stayed at their previous levels.

Setting bad examples

But the poor attainments of our civil servants in Judiciary and Police when compared to international student achievements is not the only bane of the Malaysian education system.

Another equally critical area where the Malaysian education system has failed miserably is the Democratic Principals subject, which was poignantly illustrated in the past 5 decades, placing me in the position of not knowing whether to laugh or to cry.

Yesterday, I issued a media statement where I said:

“I wish to apologise to the Prime Minister and DAP President,Lim Kit Siang and the DAP-PakatanRakyat leaders that I was elected into the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) at the 16th DAP National Congress – and with the highest votes.” I am really flabbergasted that there are DAP-PakatanRakyat leaders and supporters who took it literally to mean that I had realised the error of BN-Umno “misconduct” and that BN-Umno was belatedly admitting that Lim Kit Siang had been right.

It would be unthinkable that such a ludicrous situation in comprehension of the Democratic Principals could happen in Malaysia 40 years ago! (The Race Riots took 2 hands to clap, DAP was the dirty hand, but ALL Malaysians were punished instead, meanwhile DAP MPs have sat in power for decades and currently collect 20 times PROPOSED minimum wage of 900 . . . )

No such phrases in the Democratic Principals, dear Karpal (much less the 0.002% quorum crony NGO(quangocrat) based elections which takes tax payer monies. (300 NGO members voted, 1.5 million Penangites were left out and given inadequate time to vote or participate in voting, DAP however wants to INSULT the Rakyat by distributing money THIRD WORLD STYLE instead which could be used to ensure proper voting occured)

Recently, we have a Mentri Besar whose comprehension of Democratic Principals is so dismal that he could “invent”” figurative language in Democratic Principals only known to himself – when he talked about “sacrificing DAP’s Teoh Beng Hocks” and “jumping into the river” in Pahang if DAP should lose to 33rd Force in Bentong in the 13 general elections.

Everybody who searched the internet could only find figures of speech like “cutting the Kit Siang to spite Guan Eng” and “jump into the PAP” but no “cutting Karpals” or “jumping into the PAP”!

Of course, Malaysians will not forget about another Mentri Besar who claimed ignorance of Democratic Principals as to justify carrying lying about declarations of MP Assets to the Rakyat as a campaign manifesto for GE12 while taking 1 million or so every 4 year term of thr taxpayer monies then having the illegally appointed EXCO members declare assets in bait and switch instead! DAP is a party of multiple crises in term limitlessness and crony capitalism, including multiple crisis in nepotism.

Let us be serious about term limitlessness and crony capitalism, including multiple crisis in nepotism in parties like DAP, and stop making Malaysia an international joke. Listed below are the nepotist (also untalented and unprincipled) factions in DAP which the Rakyat must remove or run as candidates against :

RELATED REPOSTING WARNING ABOUT NEPOTISM

Please note the Oligarchs in Pakatan as listed below :

NEPOTISM IN PAKATAN RAKYAT

Three of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Lim Kit Siang (MP Ipoh Timur – Perak)

Lim Guan Eng (MP Air Puteh – Penang)

Chew Gek Cheng (Assemblyman Kota Laksamana – Malacca) Guan Eng’s wife

Lim Hui Ying Guan Eng’s sister (Vice-Chairman)

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Karpal Singh (MP Jelutong – Penang)

Gobind Singh (MP Puchong – Selangor)

Karpal’s son Jagdeep Singh (Asssemblyman Dato Keramat – Penang)

Karpal’s son

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Anwar Ibrahim (MP Permatang Pauh, Seberang Prai)

Wan Azizah Nurul Izzah Anwar(MP Lembah Pantai – Kuala Lumpur)

Anwar’s Daughter Also either Ngeh (Pantai Remis) or Nga (Sitiawan)

;must go to prevent 2nd degree nepotism and the kind of environment that caused DAP’s Kulasegaran, PKR’s Gobalakrishnan, to be kicked out possibly an act of racism but more likely at the order of the Lim Dynasty clique. BN of course we do not need to discuss, blocs of relatives galore.

HRP might very well be aware of some things we are not aware of to list some surprising choices as well, do not discount their reasons. PSM’s Jeyakumar appears to have been bought by BN though, so their viability is uncertain until PSM’s clique leadership changes. I have done some probing and casual calls to PSM, they are not very grassroots, DAP of course (also tried earlier) is far worse and absolutely TREACHEROUS and clique based and beholden to SINGAPORE’s PAP. I would not be surprised if the nepotists in DAP are rounded up a 2nd time, for collusions with Singapore to subvert Malaysian Federal authority instead amongst other things like ‘neurotech abuse’. Everyone else, should meanwhile stand as independents in any constituency with bad assemblymen or MPs or people who do not endorse term limits and asset declarations. Here’s something that will help voters decide if candidacy is not their thing or too expensive : Barisan – Apartheid, Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs Pakatan – Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs (excepting PAS) 3rd Force – Corrupt Only (watch Marina’s cliques as well) Pick the coalition with the least flaws. End the APARTHEID ! Destroy the Oligarchs in all political coalitions ! 3rd Force is best.

Truth By Consensus – How To Control Our Thinking – by Zen Gardner – Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

Funny how this works. People actually think they can arrive at the truth by averaging what they hear. Seriously. That’s how most people are taught to think. I get this argument all the time. It totally explains the power of the mass media. Just think about this dynamic. How do people arrive at conclusions? What information or lack thereof are they deriving them from? Pretty stark reality if you’re willing to look it in the eyes. People are incredibly similar in their outlook and understandings. And hence behaviors. Incredibly so. Like we’re following a script. Look at yourself. How you dress, the expressions you use, what you’re into. No matter what segment of society you’re living in, it’s pretty freaky. I remember when I decided to grow out my facial hair and looking in the mirror thinking, “Am I following some meme being broadcast by these bastards?”

Paranoid? Totally. It’s the only way on this planet. Completely healthy. If you’re not, you’re not awake yet. Truth is Never Popular. While a defined consensus gets established and reaffirms the status quo, “contrary” eddies of thought and realization make their way through the public psyche. These are carefully ferreted out by the watchdog media cabal and portrayed as “fringe” ideas and “conspiracy theories” of course. Carefully and dutifully packaged and sublimated into a negative subconscious arena for the mainstream unawakened. Anything contrary is now anathema, resented; spuriously thrown overboard as wing nut conspiracy talk. Typical. And more importantly…very effective and very efficient.

Getting To the Point

I’ll take Truth over BS fairy tales any day of eternity. No matter the pain and seeming loss of emotional or otherwise investments, bring on the Truth. 9/11 is always the standard reminder of how duped the world can be. Plain as the nose on your face those towers were brought down by some sort of exotic and carefully planned out demolition technique, but what the hell. No one cares. Or very few. At least that’s the portrayal we get and it seems to hold way too much water. People are even afraid to discuss the subject. That’s when you know society has been seriously hemmed in and headed for dismemberment. As obvious as it is, the Truth can just be right there without people being able to see it. It’s the condition of our “race”…we want to believe what we want and will cloak it in “positive thinking” or “idealism” or imposed bottom line security needs whenever we can for peace and comfort. Very, very sad from the Truth perspective, but oh so understandable. Blindness until awakened. What a tale. But behold the awakening in spite of all this!

Enter Psycho-Sexual Addiction

This psychological pandering we’re witnessing is simply a ploy to keep the masses asleep. The populace has been duped, hypnotized, seduced. It no longer can contain, maintain or control itself. It must have the savories and goodies of the system or it will go berserk. This addiction is firmly established. Football, advertising, game shows, reality dramas, zombie and vampire horror and sci-fi movies while sucking down addictive, poisonous foods………”Please bring it on! We want more! We want another reality, not our own!” Scantily dressed young girls, sculpted effeminized men, cross sexual weirdness of every type and genre…. …bring it on. Chaos is our new middle name–in fact, their manipulated shifting world is apparently our New Normal. ‘Chaos is the new normal’ is as cognitively dissonant as the ‘war on terrorism’. Orwell, you must be howling!

Summary

Know what you “believe” about not only their false structure, but our true reality, to the point it’s not a belief. Please know each of those as facts…not an emotional extension of some hope or sense of idealism. Be sure you’re deciding for yourself and not following anything unconsciously. We’re not used to that kind of truly independent thought, having been taught all our lives to just follow, obey and repeat, so it’s a lot of work and a set of muscles that have to be developed. You’ll see what I mean as it goes along. Affirming our conscious awakening in spirit, word and deed is our primary purpose and most potent weapon. Not only against the usurpers and the ignorance and darkness that seems to rule our current paradigm, but for the development and realization of the true conscious reality that is there to be expressed into this dimension. Get busy being and doing what you know is right and the rest will follow, I guarantee. Because that’s how it works. And do it in love. If we can wake up, anybody can. Love, Zen

“If you’re not free to follow life’s signs and live in synchronicity, you’re not free.” – Zen

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . It must have the savories and goodies of the system or it will go berserk. . . . Chaos is our new middle name–in fact, their manipulated shifting world is apparently our New Normal. . . .

Actually savouries or goodies MUST not be considered such. Chaos is not ‘our’ new middle name, Chaos is not mainstream, Chaos is going to take a proper place WITHOUT punishment. There is no way ‘Chaos’ can co-opt you unless you are Chaotically inclined, and given the need of Chaos in evolution per se, I’d say Chaos is the very most important thing to ANY species which wants to move on, even as older structures become increasingly exotic and rarefied to the point of gaining value (in retarded areas of the 3rd world, the rare are villified much like LGBT, in the right places, the rare’d be exotic and invested in to ensure survival . . . ).

Religion would have taken the role of rare, but the overproliferation and low quality of followers, obvious internal rot and abusive nature of religion says that religion is already over-proliferated and people being subconsciously sick of religion, acting whatever in the only way they can, to sabotage religion much like pedo-priests protesting celibacy, Islamists protesting no alcohol and no pork rules by being violent, Buddhists acquiring car collections and much trappings of wealth and gold all around the temple (Temples to rampant-Capitalism and Greed), even as Buddha said to not be materialistic, can we see that the highest ranked in the faith actually do the most opposite? I wonder if I do enough ‘opposite’ I’d be the Ecclesiarch Primifex of the Planet . . .

. . . So get busy being and doing what you know is right and the rest will follow, I guarantee. Because that’s how it works. . . .

Don’t accidentally co-opt what is already known as your own!

@Zen appears to be quite fused with whatever mass mind or community hive @Zen is from (@Zen is less hive minded overall but still enough to identify that the mindset is still hivelike). Truth By Consensus problems as describe above are however correct. Subversive article with a good NLP positive article that disparages ‘Chaos’? Hard to say, but whatever we gravitate to, that is what we truly are, everything else is just nonsense, regardless of whatever laws or social trends, though spaces appropriate to size and facilities must be available to all and sundry in either case.

BEIJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — China has expressed serious concern and firm opposition to a U.S. bill that regards China’s territory as under the authority of a U.S.-Japan security pact.

At a regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters, “The Chinese side expresses serious concern and firm opposition to the U.S. Senate’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which involves the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets.”

In the bill, which the U.S. Senate passed last week, the United States reaffirmed that it “takes no position” on the ultimate sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands. However, the bill notes that Japan has the rights of administration over the territory and that “unilateral actions of a third party” would not affect its position.

Hong said the Diaoyu Island and its affiliated islets have always been the inherent territory of China since ancient times, and China has undisputed sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands.

According to the U.S. bill, any armed attack “in the territories under the administration of Japan” would be met under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

Hong called the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan as a “product of the Cold War era”, saying it should not go beyond bilateral scopes, nor undermine the interests of a third party.

Hong said the U.S. side has repeatedly stated that it will not take sides on territory disputes between China and Japan.

He said the U.S. side “should not send out signals that conflict with each other.” He expressed the hope that the U.S. side would “proceed from the general situation of peace and stability of the region”, “keep its words” and “do more things that are conducive to peace and stability in the region.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The islands were part of Chinese territory with an indigenous people that accepted vassalship under the Chinese Emperor until the 8 Foreign Powers invasion and later Japanese expansion in WW1 and 2. USA should understand that sovereignty loss during war cannot have legal continuity under occupiers or aggressors when the war ends. How would USA like for the Native Ameri-Indians to kick them back to Europe?

ARTICLE 2

Ooh Baby It’s a Wild World – by Daniel J. Flynn on 11.30.12 @ 6:08AM

It’s a jungle out there for transanimals.

The humans called Dennis Avner “Stalking Cat.” His kind referred to him as “meow.”

The cat-like Avner, who held the Guinness Book of World Records mark for body modifications — including a bifurcated lip, extensive tiger-stripe facial tattooing, surgically pointed ears, and silicone injections in the cheeks, chin, and forehead — died earlier this month.

The human authorities suspect he killed himself. I suspect humans, threatened that one of their own had defected to the cat community, killed him.

Human nature, alien to Stalking Cat, remains quite familiar with suicide. The dearth of documented cases of self-inflicted felicide raises suspicions. Only an Ace Ventura could definitively answer this whodunit. The one certainty here is that it’s a jungle out there for a person who realizes he, she, or it is an animal trapped in a human’s body.

Dennis Avner never found acceptance among mankind as a felid despite the plastic surgeries, the tattoos, and the silicone injections. He was, in a loose sense, a real-life Philip Nolan — a manimal without a species.

Biology is the new racism. The phobia against transanimals recalls the societal obstinacy regarding transgenders. We exiled them to the “third bathroom,” inscribed pesky reminders of their physiology on their driver’s licenses, and imprisoned them with criminals of the opposite gender. Some men still won’t consider dating a woman who was born a “man” — whatever that antiquated designation means. One surmises that Stalking Cat encountered similar prejudices among potential dating partners of all sexes and species.

Society’s rejection of transanimals results in their rejection of themselves. When a man splits his tongue, amputates his arms, and fuses his legs together to realize his inner serpent, society calls him crazy, a freak, and troubled — instead of what he is: a snake. We will become as sane as they are only when we finally see transanimals as they see themselves.

All this recalls the dark ages when we denied that one biologically born a male who surgically remade herself as female was as much a woman as your mother. Dennis Avner was as much a cat as Chastity Bono is a man.

Yet, many landlords won’t rent to transanimals. Their contracts stipulate “no pets.” Restaurants still post “no dogs allowed” signs. Public parks demand that you keep animals on a leash. Dennis Avner served in the Navy. But he did so in the form of a human being. The ban on transspecies soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines persists despite the obvious intimidation factor that a battalion of tiger-men would impose on the enemy.

What was Stalking Cat supposed to make of the many restrictions, formal and informal, that civilization imposed upon his wild spirit?

Transanimals face a gross double standard vis-à-vis transgenders. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decrees that the Affordable Care Act forbids discrimination against transgendered patients within federally funded programs. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, a Reagan appointee, has ordered Massachusetts taxpayers to fund gender reassignment surgery for Michelle Kosilek, an inmate convicted of murdering his wife after she caught him in her clothes. Sixteen state governments find a compelling interest in forbidding employers from taking into account a man’s metamorphosis into a woman, or vice versa, when hiring and firing.

By what logic do these states, the federal judge, and HHS, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, then permit discrimination based on animal identity?

In fits of self-absolution, tormentors conveniently maintain that the extinction of Stalking Cat, along with a transgender suicide rate 25 times the general population’s, proves that self-mutilation begins a slow self-destruction that ends in one’s ultimate destruction. Society has dysphoria over sexual, and species, dysphoria. We lose some of our humanity when we don’t extend it to gharials, capybaras, and narwhals. Cats are people too.

Mourn Dennis Avner’s tragic demise. But celebrate the miracle of his longevity. While most house cats survive to about 15, Stalking Cat lived to 54. If you last that many years more, you will surely meet others of his kind.

The bodies of four people who had been shot to death were found face-down Sunday outside a suburban Southern California home that apparently served as an unlicensed boarding house, authorities said.

Los Angeles police were seeking a motive for the attacks at the house in Northridge, in the San Fernando Valley.

Lt. Terri Brinkmeyer said a 911 call led police to the large house around 4:30 a.m. Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the bodies of two men and two women were found face-down on a side yard of the property.

Investigators were questioning several people who were on the property at the time of the shooting, but no one has been detained or arrested.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, who represents the area, said the house was split into several units for rent. He said at least a dozen people lived in the house, which contained several bedrooms, kitchenettes and mattresses on the floor.

“It appears from the nature of things that this was an unlicensed boarding facility,” Englander said from the crime scene. He noted that one bedroom was only accessible through a window.

The house was on street lined with houses, schools and places of worship.

“This is a very safe neighborhood. This type of thing doesn’t normally happen here,” Englander said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Places of worship is the keyword here perhaps. Fundo alert. Or religion contrived sense of entitlement that caused strife with possible secularists.

CHICAGO — The now familiar term “Asperger’s disorder” is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But “dyslexia” and other learning disorders remain.

The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation’s psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the American Psychiatric Association’s new diagnostic manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide. The manual also is important for the insurance industry in deciding what treatment to pay for, and it helps schools decide how to allot special education.

This diagnostic guide “defines what constellations of symptoms” doctors recognize as mental disorders, said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor. More important, he said, it “shapes who will receive what treatment. Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care.”

Olfson was not involved in the revision process. The changes were approved Saturday in suburban Washington, D.C., by the psychiatric association’s board of trustees.

The aim is not to expand the number of people diagnosed with mental illness, but to ensure that affected children and adults are more accurately diagnosed so they can get the most appropriate treatment, said Dr. David Kupfer. He chaired the task force in charge of revising the manual and is a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis for Asperger’s disorder. People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects but lack social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

And some Asperger’s families opposed any change, fearing their kids would lose a diagnosis and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term “autism spectrum disorder,” which already is used by many experts in the field. Asperger’s disorder will be dropped and incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis. The new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don’t talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Kelli Gibson of Battle Creek, Mich., who has four sons with various forms of autism, said Saturday she welcomes the change. Her boys all had different labels in the old diagnostic manual, including a 14-year-old with Asperger’s.

“To give it separate names never made sense to me,” Gibson said. “To me, my children all had autism.”

Three of her boys receive special education services in public school; the fourth is enrolled in a school for disabled children. The new autism diagnosis won’t affect those services, Gibson said. She also has a 3-year-old daughter without autism.

People with dyslexia also were closely watching for the new updated doctors’ guide. Many with the reading disorder did not want their diagnosis to be dropped. And it won’t be. Instead, the new manual will have a broader learning disorder category to cover several conditions including dyslexia, which causes difficulty understanding letters and recognizing written words.

The trustees on Saturday made the final decision on what proposals made the cut; recommendations came from experts in several work groups assigned to evaluate different mental illnesses.

The revised guidebook “represents a significant step forward for the field. It will improve our ability to accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders,” Dr. David Fassler, the group’s treasurer and a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said after the vote.

The shorthand name for the new edition, the organization’s fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is DSM-5. Group leaders said specifics won’t be disclosed until the manual is published but they confirmed some changes. A 2000 edition of the manual made minor changes but the last major edition was published in 1994.

Olfson said the manual “seeks to capture the current state of knowledge of psychiatric disorders. Since 2000 … there have been important advances in our understanding of the nature of psychiatric disorders.”

Catherine Lord, an autism expert at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York who was on the psychiatric group’s autism task force, said anyone who met criteria for Asperger’s in the old manual would be included in the new diagnosis.

One reason for the change is that some states and school systems don’t provide services for children and adults with Asperger’s, or provide fewer services than those given an autism diagnosis, she said.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said small studies have suggested the new criteria will be effective. But she said it will be crucial to monitor so that children don’t lose services.

Other changes include:

—A new diagnosis for severe recurrent temper tantrums — disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. Critics say it will medicalize kids’ who have normal tantrums. Supporters say it will address concerns about too many kids being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated with powerful psychiatric drugs. Bipolar disorder involves sharp mood swings and affected children are sometimes very irritable or have explosive tantrums.

—Eliminating the term “gender identity disorder.” It has been used for children or adults who strongly believe that they were born the wrong gender. But many activists believe the condition isn’t a disorder and say calling it one is stigmatizing. The term would be replaced with “gender dysphoria,” which means emotional distress over one’s gender. Supporters equated the change with removing homosexuality as a mental illness in the diagnostic manual, which happened decades ago.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

People are weird and different. The Victorian Era destroyed LGBT and butchered half the world’s indigenous cultures, many of which were LGBT friendly. The Victorian Era also propagated Christianity, which subsumed and destroyed many native faiths as well as subverted many world citizens into colonial mindsets that still persist this day. The English were expelled from the USA, sadly the Christian faith still is afflicting many populations worldwide. The English incidentally were the Angles, a group of GERMANIC outcasts that murdered the Celtic and Nordic cultures of the Isles, occupied thier lands, and butchered all the way through Africa, India and later China destroying lives, cultures and native religions for mere ‘paganism’ (those who didn’t want to belive in ‘god’ were heathens and ‘soulless’ needed to be murdered in those days . . . no end.

Onion editor: Tricking China has a “certain delightfulness”
A Chinese news site takes an Onion satire for a real story
The Onion declares North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “sexiest man alive”
People’s Daily Online runs portions of the Onion story and 55 photos of Kim

(CNN) — China, as one Twitter user wrote Tuesday, has been fooled by the “mysterious Western art of satire.”

The merciless comedy website The Onion has declared North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive for 2012.” And it appears China’s People’s Daily Online has taken the story seriously.

The Chinese story reprinted satirical comments describing Kim’s “air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side,” his “impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and,” the story says, “that famous smile.”
A Chinese state-run site was fooled Tuesday by a satirical story that declared North Korea\’s Kim Jong Un the \
A Chinese state-run site was fooled Tuesday by a satirical story that declared North Korea’s Kim Jong Un the “sexiest man alive.”

The story on People’s Daily Online on Tuesday illustrates the mutual backscratching that China and North Korea exercise through their government-run media. The incident also shows foreign media outlets’ difficulty in navigating The Onion’s brand of satire.

The Chinese website had underscored its story by including its own 55-page photo gallery to accompany the text, which was published in both English and Chinese. But the pages and the images were no longer available Wednesday.

A woman responding to a call Wednesday to the office of the website said it was “impossible that the People’s Daily will quote from any unreliable media — we do verify our news and sources.”

The woman, who declined to identify herself, noted that the item had been removed.

The People’s Daily Online has a separate office from the print version of the Chinese Communist Party’s main newspaper.

Tracy said he’s not surprised when legitimate news sites fall for his high-level tomfoolery, but this was the first time The Onion had named a “sexiest man alive.” “We knew it would get a response,” he said “but we didn’t expect it would get life from abroad.”

A satirical post on The Onion congratulated the People’s Daily for its coverage.

The site “has served as one of the Onion’s Far East bureaus for quite some time, and I believe their reportage as of late has been uncommonly fine, as well as politically astute,” said The Onion’s Grant Jones in a e-mail statement. “May our felicitous business association continue for centuries to come.”

Yes. Again. If this scenario sounds familiar it’s because The Onion is no stranger to fooling government-run news outlets.

In September, an Onion satire fooled Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. Fars published an Onion story claiming that a Gallup poll found that rural white Americans preferred Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over President Barack Obama.

On the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, netizens made their own teasing comments about People’s Daily.

“Foolish foreigners, the party paper was born to be funny,” wrote @sheldon-BaiBai.

“The world was fooled by the People’s Daily, because no Chinese believes this paper,” wrote @Hai_Dao_Wu_Bian.

The Onion never writes its stories with the intention of fooling government agencies, Tracy said. But “it’s great when it happens. We hope it happens more often.”

This prank, he said with obvious glee, may turn out to be the legendary Onion fake story that veterans will talk about for years to come. “We essentially just fooled the government of China.”

CNN’s Jethro Mullen and CY Xu contributed to this report.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Remember the boy who cried wolf? And if this is intended to harrass the foreign media, The Onion is just inviting the Chinese to do the same to foreign media portals. If this becomes rampant, then news on the internet will become rubbish or manipulative unreadable agenda laden nonsesne, and the MSM papers which will still remain propaganda, become more influencial and manipulative of the citizens locally until the dark pre-info-ages take hold again through sheer contrivedness and agenda loaded inaccuracy of articles. The Onion is opening a can of worms that could down all online media or online media accuracy if not careful . . . If the CNN, BBC and Peoples Daily or whatever online media do not remain strictly accurate in reporting, above the fray of b.s., the world will be poorer for the lack of ethics for preference of manipulation to bad ends.

Sometimes a highly individualistic name for a baby is not good news for a kid, says Dean Obeidallah

Dean Obeidallah: A new list of popular 2012 baby names includes Siri, Mac, Luna
He says it’s not just celebrities with offbeat baby-naming now; it’s spreading to the rest of us
He says studies show distinctive names can spur teasing and mistreatment
Obeidallah: Parents, think twice on names; it could have long-term effect on your child

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog “The Dean’s Report” and co-director of the upcoming documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!” Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) — Siri, Mars, Mac and Luna. I’m not talking Apple products or planetary terms. These are baby names. And not just any baby names but ones that have jumped in popularity in 2012, according to Baby Center.com’s just released list.

Baby Siri? Seriously, who would name their bundle of joy after a frustrating Apple product that hardly ever works? And speaking of Apple (see daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin,) that name moved up a whopping 585 places on the list of names for girls born in 2012. So there could conceivably be a family out there with a daughter named Apple and a son named Siri. (Hope that entitles the family to a discount on an iMac.)

There was a time when bizarre baby naming was something only celebrities did to their kids (as if being the child of a celebrity wasn’t challenging enough). There’s Beyonce and Jay Z’s Blue Ivy, Penn Jillette’s son, Moxie Crimefighter, Bono’s daughter Memphis Eve, actor Jason Lee’s son Pilot Inspektor, and the list goes on and on.

But now this “condition” is apparently spreading to the rest of us. In addition to the offbeat names above, 2011 saw babies sporting such names as: Moo, Draper, Graceland and Tequila.

There are even media reports that this past weekend some parents allegedly named their newborn daughter, Hashtag. That one may turn out to be an Internet hoax, but after last year’s story of a child in Egypt being named Facebook (in praise of the role Facebook played in the Egyptian revolution), we can’t be too far from babies named Retweet and Spam Blocker anyway. It truly is only a matter of time until you meet a kid named DVR or Playstation 3.
Become a fan of CNNOpinion
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Apparently some parents believe that giving their child a jaw-dropping name will make him or her more distinctive. News flash: it’s not the name that makes your child stand out, it’s his or her achievements.

While I don’t want to rain on creativity, let’s be honest — these weird names are more about parents showing off their “cleverness” than about finding a name that fits the child. It’s not like the parents got to know the child first for a few months and then said, “You know this baby really is a little Siri.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z welcome baby Blue Ivy
Jolie: We are all Malala

And do these parents even consider that a baby’s name can cause consequences for the child that the parents never imagined, and in many areas of the child’s life? When I reflect upon my own name, I realize that my life could have been far different if my parents had followed their initial instincts when naming me.

My Palestinian father wanted to name me Saladin after the famous Muslim leader, while my Sicilian mother wanted to name me Dino. Instead they compromised on Dean.

Growing up in North Jersey, Dean was not a common name. But it actually made me feel different in a good way being the only Dean in my class. And even today in looking at the list of baby names for 2012, I was actually happy that Dean was not in the top 100.

Still, the truth is, if I’d been named Dino, I would have certainly been viewed as more ethnic by teachers, potential employers and co-workers. I would have been required to continually overcome cultural stereotypes.

And if I’d been named the very Arabic Saladin Obeidallah, you could just imagine all the “fun” I would have had in post-9/11 America. I would have likely volunteered for “random” security checks at the airport to make it easier for all involved or simply got used to taking the bus cross country.

But there’s a difference between a name that isn’t overly common and naming your child after your favorite appliance. A name is a big part of a kid’s identity. It can trigger impressions about a child even before we meet him or her — a particular problem among the closed-minded of the world, but this is the world your child will have to navigate.

For example, studies have found that children with names that linguistically sound like they come from a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be recommended by school officials for gifted classes and actually more likely to be labeled as learning disabled.

Other research has revealed that boys with feminine sounding names — such as Shannon or Ashley — have had more disciplinary problems in school because of their response to teasing. Still other studies have found a link between how much people like their own names and their level of self-esteem.

So, parents, keep in mind that your choice of name will have a lasting impact on your child — both for good and bad. And if you insist on picking a bizarre name for the baby, then I propose that your child be empowered to rename you with any name he or she chooses. At least then it’s fair that a child named Hashtag has parents named Angry Birds and YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

In the past there were in some cultures NAMING CEREMONIES AT ADULTHOOD. The child would choose a name LATER, and all children knew their names when young were TEMPORARY and that parents chose those names. Sometimes what the child did that was most unique would also decide what that child was RENAMED at adulthood. So ‘Hashtag’ away and legalise/normalise name changing at the age of 21. Knowing that names are temporary and chosen by parents, kids would not be affected by teasing because they knew they were going to change that name, or the teasers would not bother to tease knowing the name would also change by then.

Shocked complainant said she would never walk her dog in Oropi Park, New Zealand, again
Andrew Pointon, 47, was charged with offensive behaviour for his naked runs
But appeal judge agrees that naked body by itself is not offensive

The right to go jogging in the nude has been upheld by the High Court in New Zealand.

Andrew Lyall Pointon, 47, was wearing only a pair of shoes when he was spotted by a woman while running at 8.30am in a forest near Tauranga in August last year.

She called police and he was arrested during another nude run.

Pointon was charged with offensive behaviour and found guilty in Tauranga District Court last December.

An appeal was thrown out in June, but a second appeal has just been upheld by Justice Paul Heath in the High Court at Tauranga.

‘If it was [offensive] then God wouldn’t have given us genitals,’ Mr Pointon told The Dominion Post.

‘It is a win for all libertarians and a setback for all conservatives in the country.’

The judge, Justice Heath, compared the situation to passing ‘gang members’ walking through the park.

He said: ‘It would not be surprising for a person in the position of the complainant to be concerned and discomforted by their presence, and even to feel threatened.

‘However, on any view, their behaviour would not be regarded as offensive behaviour.

‘Should the sight of a naked man, in the circumstances in which the complainant found herself, be treated any differently? I think not.’

He added that he felt Pointon was ‘a genuine naturist’ who had taken measures to avoid disturbing others – such as choosing a time when children would be unlikely to be on the track.

But Family First spokesman Bob McCoskrie said he was disappointed and said Justice Heath’s decision shows ‘double standards’.

He asked: ‘Is it okay for someone to streak through his courtroom? He’d be the first one to put them in the cells.’
Picturesque: The jogger was spotted close to Tauranga harbour in New Zealand

Picturesque: The jogger was spotted close to Tauranga harbour in New Zealand

Naturist Mr Pointon said he enjoyed the freedom of not wearing clothes and began running naked about 18 months ago.

The complainant, who was out walking her dog when she spotted Pointon, said she was so offended that she did not wish to ever return to the Oropi Bike Park.

But Pointon lashed out at the woman who complained.

He said: ‘It’s just ludicrous. Has this person got nothing better to do than wasting everyone’s time?

‘All she saw was a naked man running through the bush. It was just a fleeting moment, which has cost us all.

‘It just shows that it was a stupid decision by police to go ahead … and charge me for something totally irrelevant.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Perhaps a nudist’s track to keep the 2 different groups seperate.

ARTICLE 7

A Good Example of Forms and Blogospheres Littered with NLPs : 2012, I am tired – Topic started on 9-12-2012 @ 02:48 AM by TheAlmo – reply posted on 9-12-2012 @ 03:00 AM by xxshadowfaxx

I just want the date to come. Lots of mystery surround it, lots of theories, but no one knows a damn thing.

If anything is going to happen, its going to be something we haven’t seen before. Something the ancients tracked 25000 years ago. No one alive today can possibly know what it is. We don’t even know for sure if we have the right date. All the math is very precise and it seems that dec 21 is certainly a good possibility, but we may be off by hundreds of years. All we can do is wait and see.

Soon you won’t have to worry about it anymore because it is only 12 days away now. Whatever happens, happens, theres nothing anyone can do about it.

Also, its definitely possible to be love. Love is a state of being, and beneath all your problems, all your thoughts, is a state of love. When you can learn to silence the mind, and learn how to move energy through your chakras, you will find yourself in a state of love. It is beautiful to experience. All the people that talk about are trying to tell you something, and most of us ignore it completely. But the answers to all questions truely do lie within us. Once you be love, once you attain that state, you are given knowledge about who you are, what you are, and what your purpose is. You will experience the divine.

Commentator Response

I am tired you guys. Enough. This is insane.

The amount of 2012 topics on ATS and everywhere is staggering. It seems everyone takes a shot at it. Everyone. You guys turned the year 2012 into a prostitute year that everyone can buy and f*** for a while.

The problem is that I go through phases. Sometimes, I just really don’t pay attention at all and I don’t even try to rationalize or criticize the material I am exposed to. Other times, I find myself so angry about it and digging deep to find every logical fallacy there is. You know why this happens to me? Because:

1- My mood changes from time to time
2- The 2012 shower is an everlasting one that never ever stops.

What do you mean if I don’t “embrace” the change I won’t feel anything and December 21 will be just another day?

Can this lunacy get anymore vile and degrading to our intellect? I am sorry, but even the most spiritual practices can be “practicalized” if you know what I mean. You can ask me to actively stop thinking about people that I hate or that I even hate them. I can do that. But what do you mean when you say “Be Love”? How can someone be love? Can you be Batman? A sandwich? I don’t know. Be love? Embrace change? This all reminds me of an incident when I was a kid walking by a public swimming pool and a guy was teaching his 6-ish years old son to swim by saying: maintain your balance… don’t drown.

Yeah… the best thing to say to tell someone who’s drowning: yell at them: don’t drown. dude, not cool, you’re gonna die, maintain your balance. work physics to make it happen.

I am tired of this nonsensical spiritual masturbation.

What about doom and gloom?

Are you gonna tell me where to go? What to do? Or just scream around and run all over the place like a fuc*** moron? What? No place to go? Nothing to do? Where is the warning then? It’s not like you’re gonna say “told you so” later.

I am tired of this. It’s too much. It’s everywhere. Everywhere I go.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Thats the problem with the people. The laws written cause this, so vote for a candidate not of the 1% (plutocrat or political nepotist) or run as candidate yourself if there is no such candidate. Write and ratify laws to distribute national wealth and unused national land (the country belongs to all citizens so why should a handful of GLC cronies get everything, even the land and wealth from natural resources belong to the people and must be shared to reserved for a handful of politicians who can be easily identified if mega-wealthy), and end the raison d’etre for NLP articles. This way there will be enough harmony so that the world need not end, or if the world ends, everyone was happy anyway.

ARTICLE 8

How The Cost of a Degree is Now £100,000 – Posted on December 9, 2012 by Zen-Haven – Author: Paul Gallagher

The true cost of a university degree will rocket to up to £100,000 for today’s students, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

Thousands of people currently studying at university will end up paying that amount over their career because of interest charges and other fees – several times the £27,000 or £36,000 in fees that most three- and four-year courses charge.

The landmark figure, revealed in the Government’s own documents, is far higher than the £70,000 in repayments that it was previously thought students would end up paying over their lifetimes. The Government figures confirm that graduates who find well-paid jobs – in finance and law, for example – will be able to save tens of thousands of pounds by paying off their loans more quickly than the vast majority of their counterparts on middle incomes.

Even before they started in September, every student was hit with a hidden charge: for repayment purposes, the total cost of tuition is backdated to day one, meaning that the majority of the 300,000 three-year students and 117,000 four-year students currently studying will graduate with an extra £3,300 or £5,000 bill respectively, according to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) website. Many students will repay up to four times the cost of their tuition during the 30 years following graduation, after which any remaining debt is written off.

Add in other living costs and average student debt is now predicted to hit £53,000 by graduation. Accountants say billions of pounds of student debt will never be repaid, leaving “a massive tax time bomb” for generations to come.

Based on the Government’s figures, almost 300,000 students – 70 per cent of those studying – who started university in the autumn will repay between £65,000 and £85,000, while those in the highest income bracket pay back less because they will start to pay off their debts sooner. About 10 per cent who are in the “squeezed middle” could end up paying back between £85,000 and £100,000. The 20 per cent of graduates with the lowest lifetime earnings (a group dominated by women) will never come close to repaying their fees and the debt will be written off after 30 years.

The Government’s own projections lay out details of what students and graduates would owe at the start of each year in interest and repayment charges. What graduates pay back each month depends on their earnings: 9 per cent of income above £21,000 a year, independent of both the interest rate and the size of the loan. The amount due increases with time because interest is added. A 28-year-old male beginning a three-year course and whose starting salary of £21,000 quickly rises to £60,000 in year four, and is a six-figure salary by year 15, will settle his bill in 13 years, repaying just over £42,000. A woman who earns less than a third of that in her lifetime and who begins work a few years after graduating repays almost £62,000 over 28 years. A woman in her twenties who earns less than £1m in her career and takes time out to have a family will pay back less than £20,000, leaving an unpaid debt of almost £60,000. Scottish students in Scotland have their fees paid, while students in Northern Ireland pay a maximum £3,575 a year tuition.

Peter West, financial director at Portal, a computer company in Bracknell, Berkshire, said: “No one is aware of the long-term implications of this accounting wheeze. Higher education reform is a victimless crime and a massive tax time bomb. The Government has simply shifted all the debt off the accounting sheet for now – but, my God, will it come back and hit us in 30 years’ time.”

Susan Cooper, professor of experimental physics from the University of Oxford, said: “If the £21,000 repayment threshold doesn’t increase with inflation, the requirement for repayment can become much more onerous over the 30-year period. And maybe the 30 years could be increased as well. The higher the costs, the more the Government has to write off 30 years later. One could have wished for a more thorough thinking through of the consequences before being launched into this experiment.”

The University and College Union general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “The Government rushed through higher fees without properly considering the financial consequences. We warned at the time that fees close to £9,000 a year would be the norm and that the calculations for repayment by graduates were flawed.”

A spokesperson for BIS said: “Extending the write-off period to 30 years was fully costed as part of the whole repayment system. The new system helps reduce the deficit, is affordable and sustainable for the Government, while offering protection for those who may not go on to high-paid employment.”

Chuka Umunna, Labour business spokesman, said: “Students will never forgive this government for hiking up the costs of going to university. This figures show that, as ever, it is middle- and lower-income families who are being hit hardest.”

The NUS president, Liam Burns, added: “It is shocking that politicians treat the potential of a generation before they have even started their working career with such nonchalance.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The problem is that the establishment (or NWO) has already decided which people friendly to the regime of the day will get the top jobs that can actually influence policy or social culture. So even before enrollment or payment, those who are not on the same wavelength of the Education-STUDENT-DEBT-Financiar Complex (nominlly fused with the dominant religious institutions of the region – if these are not insane or hated or indulging in pedophilia) had better not even bother with ‘Education’ and instead learn how to vote and educate others on how to vote. The system is stacked EVEN at education level and hardly neutral. Identify this and act accordingly by refusing to spend anything on education. Free spirits beware, the mob mentality of society comprised with useless eaters only enriches the 1% term limitless plutocrats and political nepotists.

ARTICLE 9

Celebration of the Nudists of the 2010s : Ai Weiwei investigated over nude art – Chinese artist says he is under investigation for spreading pornography, after pictures including One Tiger Eight Breasts

Ai Weiwei is under investigation for spreading pornography, the Chinese artist has said, as the authorities turned their attention from political subversion and tax evasion to online images of nudity.

He said police had questioned his cameraman Zhao Zhao on Thursday over pictures Zhao had taken of the artist. “They clearly told him this is an investigation, now, they are doing on me, on pornography,” Ai told the AFP news agency.

One of the pictures, One Tiger Eight Breasts, shows Ai posing nude on a wooden chair flanked by four naked women who are giggling and smiling.

“Netizens came to take photos with me, so we said why don’t we take nudity photos, then everybody agreed so we did it and they were put on the internet, and that’s it, we forget about it,” Ai said.

This year Ai has been held for 81 days in a secret location, questioned about subversion and then accused of tax evasion and given a fine of 15m yuan. Several of his assistants have been detained for lengthy periods and interrogated about Ai’s political beliefs, business and personal life.

His lawyers say the investigations are politically motivated to silence Ai, who has used his high profile to speak out on police brutality, official corruption and human rights violations.

Police have been reluctant to discuss his case and there has been little or no coverage in most domestic media outlets. But the Communist party newspaper Global Times said on Wednesday that dissidents such as Ai could only exist because of the support of the west.

“For 30 years Ai Weiweis have emerged and fallen. But China has kept rising despite their pessimistic predictions. The real social trend is that they will be eliminated in the rising process of China,” said a comment article in the paper.

Ai has attempted to turn the tables by mounting an internet campaign against his accusers. He says 30,000 people contributed a total of more than 8m yuan to his online appeal for loans to challenge his tax fine.

A pornography or obscenity charge based on the pictures revealed so far is likely to incur ridicule and anger among Ai’s supporters. Many Chinese contemporary artists have appeared naked in their work.

Ai said police had previously questioned him about the images, but he doubted they understood art. “If they see nudity as pornography, then China is still in the Qing dynasty,” he told Associated Press.

Ai Weiwei with EVEN MORE nudists. The CPCC and PLA need not fear this wall of human flesh led by a scruffy semi-geezer, fear is in the mind China!

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is not for everyone BUT, this is an acid test of human rights and civil society. Hey frumpOs, if you had the aesthetic, you’d be as sex positive and body confident enough to use nakeness and beauty as weapons to shame the ugliness of society and the establishment instead of attacking nudism and snarking on morality. So stop victimising naked persons, that counts for MALE body parts too . . . so about a decade ago there was this activist who really didn’t know why until now . . . WHOS STILL WRITING TO END APARTHEID . . . Nudism is COURAGE and PETA is not exactly at the level of anti-apartheid activity.

PETA Nudists.

Perhaps Nelson Mandela should visit Ai Weiwei and learn something missed, though this does not make for mainstream just yet but we early birds are the most well loved birds, so see Israeli women have taken a nude group photo to express solidarity with Aliaa Magda Elmahdy . . . and look at non-Muslims getting arrested for Khalwat in Muslim countries. Monyet dan Anjing! Hunga bunga! Bulaklak!

Ladies, if you’re a Lursa or a B’etor everyone will understand why the preference to stay covered is there, BUT no understanding will be offered to those who hate on all of the above people who dare to be nudist or go nude for their cause. Same to the narrow gents. What’s YOUR cause Frumpos? Snarking at people who try to change the world? Who try to end apartheid? Who challenge status quo?

Nudists Nuns in Russia marching against Putin’s 3rd term??? . . .

The more ‘faithful’ they are the more brittle the faith . . . hence the term ‘cracker’ . . . so go hide your daughters and get out your shotguns. (this is intended to remind those without 2nd amendment rights to know how good hillbillies live in the USA, no other reason . . . ). Aight back to surfing porn and drinking horse, pork and beef flavoured beer . . .

Nudists in Paris.

Israeli Nudists for St.Alia.

Pussy Riot – Russia.

Nudist Zones in China (at least zones exist . . .)

This is not a nudist gathering but rather an English advert.

So the next time someone is dressed like this, just keep that mouth shut. Bikini’s are skimpier and even if out of context, nudism is not even sexual activity per se. The clothes on this woman are actually kinda wholesome, even with the neons . . .

mini-ARTICLE 9.5

Woman Has Baby At Upstate New York Zoo : There was no time to get the expectant mother to hospital after she suddenly went into labour on Friday. – 8:33pm UK, Saturday 08 December 2012 – Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York

A New York state zoo has had a surprise visit – from the stork.

A woman went into labour on Friday and gave birth on a path at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse.

The 21-year-old woman, who was visiting the zoo with a group, had a baby girl with help from keepers not far from the bear exhibit.

Zoo worker Liz Schmidt told The Post-Standard that she heard about the situation and rushed to find the woman already pushing out the baby.

“I honestly didn’t expect her to deliver at the zoo,” Ms Schmidt said. “I thought we’d pop her in a wheelchair and she’d be good to go to the hospital.”

Other workers arrived with blankets to keep the mother and baby warm, and the zoo’s elephant expert herded away curious visitors.

An ambulance soon arrived to take the newborn to a hospital. A hospital representative declined to discuss the mother or baby’s medical conditions for privacy reasons.

Zoo Director Ted Fox said the attraction plans to send a gift to the family.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Nice . . . so Penang gets another beast among their ranks what was being snatched? Zoo animals conceiving? Now we understand why cheaters never prosper and why (some) Asians REALLY do not have Human Souls. That which is not one’s may never belong by theft or strength in numbers, more so on the spiritual level. How about another invasion of the 3rd world before the pariahs get too strong. Those who play by the rules need not worry, by now most of the ‘invaders’ should be able to identify the whos who among pariahs and among the rich and politically connected are plenty of pariahs.

Dmitry Medvedev has been caught making some unusual comments off-air after failing to realise television cameras were still rolling.

The Russian prime minister let his guard down after an interview with five Russian television stations – offering his strange views on Father Christmas and aliens as well as taking a pot shot at President Vladimir Putin and the federal police.

“I believe in Father Frost. But not too deeply. But anyway, you know, I’m not one of those people who are able to tell the kids that Father Frost does not exist,” he said in a jovial reply to a question about Russia’s equivalent of Santa Claus.

He went on to take a jab at Mr Putin for his frequent lateness for meetings after he was more than hour late for an event in southern Russia.

“Colleagues, somebody should be extremely punctual, while somebody else is exhausting all the limits for being late,” he said.

The comments invited a satirical reaction on the Internet which is unlikely to help Mr Medvedev, whose power has been ebbing since Mr Putin took over as president.
RUSSIA-GOVERNMENT-POLITICS-MEDVEDEV The prime minister speaking to the TV stations that caught him off-air

In the interview itself, Mr Medvedev underlined his allegiance to the president in a likely bid to dismiss rumours he is about to be fired.

In an unexpected move, the liberal-leaning prime minister defended Kremlin-backed laws which critics say will be used to stifle dissent.

But in the off-air comments, he was more frank.

When a journalist complained about federal investigators arriving to search the home of a witness in an inquiry early in the morning, Mr Medvedev said: “They are just jerks, so they come at eight in the morning.

“It’s just their set of habits. I know many people who work in the police. They think if they come at seven in the morning they will get everything in the world.”

Another of the journalists asked whether the president is handed secret files on aliens when he receives the briefcase needed to activate Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

“Along with the briefcase with nuclear codes, the president of the country is given a special ‘top secret’ folder. This folder in its entirety contains information about aliens who visited our planet,” Mr Medvedev answered playfully.

“Along with this, you are given a report of the absolutely secret special service that exercises control over aliens on the territory of our country…

“More detailed information on this topic you can get from a well-known movie called Men In Black… I will not tell you how many of them are among us because it may cause panic,” he said.

None of the television stations that interviewed Medvedev broadcast the off-air comments.

Russians mocked the prime minister on the internet.

“It’s sad when the former president and current prime minister of your country is simply a pathetic person,” Yekaterina Kudinova wrote on Twitter.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not strange at all but with the kind of Russian subtlty that bore Russia a Marx. Medvedev has a OCCULT (or Techno advanced derived) CONSCIENCE which could be tranlated into OCCULT (or Techno advanced derived) ETHICS which can translate into (or Techno advanced derived) MORALLY AFFLUENT LAWS. This is my strange response to Medvedev’s strange off air comments. Expositions on methodology will lead to spiritual cleanliness and less hive mindedness and less mob mindedness, these many headed “non-individuals” Medvedev is referring to are the true criminals of Humanity that need to have the worst happen to them.

A one-on-one between exes is not the same as mass parasitisation, and we all know where spiritual parasites are going, those who do not produce and only take, as “Useless Eaters” are bound for the Auswictzs’ of the future (and past). In other words, do your own work or (spiritual homework) and choose your fights carefully and with respect, millions of spirits will be seeking their payment for their untimely deaths and that will be the ‘hell’ everyone keeps talking about . . . vote Medevedev for the next Sec. Gen. of the UN and we might see a better world if Medevedev applies entirely such principles within the SPIRITUAL update of the UN Human Rights Charter. Here’s one for the morally affluent non-cops and non-parasites . . . lets shine a light on all degenerates who won’t even think for themselves . . .

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — No government agency is taking action to remove the decaying carcass of a whale on a California beach, making it appear the job will be left to Mother Nature.

The corpse of the huge fin whale created a spectacle on Friday as people wandered down the narrow Malibu beach to look at the remains — white bones, rolls of blubber and the tail flukes trailing along the water’s edge.

The homes of movie stars, celebrities and others line the cliffs high above the slender beach.

Looking over the whale, Malibu resident Ben Dossett suggested there was now no need to try to remove it.

“You look at the difference between what it was on Tuesday to what it is today. I think they can just leave it and let nature take its course,” he said.

The smell had largely faded away, but still attached to the shoes of those who came near. Some people took pictures, a boy poked the bones and dogs sniffed it.

“It’s really sad that this is my first time seeing a whale,” said Ingrid De La O, a Malibu resident. “It’s mind-boggling to see this immense huge thing that lives in the water.”

The 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound juvenile male washed ashore Monday near Point Dume, which marks the western end of Santa Monica Bay, about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

“From the evidence that we have so far, it appears that it was hit by a ship,” said Jonsie Ross, marine mammal coordinator for the California Wildlife Center.

James Respondek, a real estate agent who lives in the area, worried that the carcass would draw sharks that could pose a threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove, and to his favorite surfing spot down the beach. He said he was frustrated that no agency would remove the carcass.

“There seems to be no readiness to take responsibility, to take action, just a lot of excuses. ‘I don’t have a boat, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the resources,’ they all told me,” he said.

Fin whales are endangered, and about 2,300 live along the West Coast. They’re the second-largest species of whale after blue whales and can grow up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live to be 90 years old.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Austerity leads to political caution? Cost saving and avoiding use of crony contractors (in this case whale cleaning crews companies which the government cleverly decided not to pay with taxpayer funds by, or where the links were so obvious they did not want to expose their political flank for) is good for the taxpayers and respect of tax fund access, and who knows a clever reference to Kim Schmidt that MSM should play on . . . the cleanup might cost a few thousand which could go to the starving or homeless, instead of a crony company. The local bars could take a look at the below article btw, a potential money making and indirect clean up courtesy of the local oceanside bars, though killings of mostly endangered whales intentionally by ship owners should be very carefully watched for . . .

Owen Roberts was an Oxford graduate, a man of dazzling intellect and gentle wit, who met Ann when they were both young broadcast journalists

Ann Clwyd had presumed that when her husband was admitted to a flagship teaching hospital, the staff charged with caring for him would do just that. It was not an outrageous assumption.

She did not imagine that he would die ‘like a battery hen’, squashed against the bars of his bed.

She did not anticipate that he would deteriorate catastrophically because, she feels, those entrusted to look after him were guilty of ‘indifference, contempt and callousness’.

She had expected that her gentle and genial husband, Owen Roberts, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, would be accorded care and kindness.

Instead, six weeks ago, he died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, as she sat helpless at his side.

This week, Ann, 75, the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, and a redoubtable campaigner for the rights of the oppressed, steeled herself to make her private grief public.

She did so not for political aggrandisement but to try to spare others similar suffering.

Ann spoke out shortly after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted that poor standards of care are one of the biggest problems facing the NHS; that in the worst cases, hospital staff are overseeing ‘a kind of normalisation of cruelty’.

And she wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients.

When I met her in her parliamentary office later, she was composed and softly-spoken. Occasionally her eyes blurred with tears, but aside from grief, the emotion that overwhelms her is a quiet, simmering fury.

‘I felt it in the hospital,’ she says. ‘I can’t really remember what happened immediately after Owen died — it’s a blur — but I do remember my anger. Owen did not die from MS. He died from hospital-acquired pneumonia, and from lack of care and attention.

‘I’m still angry, and the anger gets fiercer. I think at one point I felt I’d like to burn down the hospital.

‘I know that people meet in rooms and discuss things and promise it will never happen again. But you know very well that it does. Again and again.

‘Owen was a tall man, 6ft 2in, and he died cramped and squashed against the bars of his bed like a battery hen. He had an oxygen mask that didn’t fit properly and cut into his chin. When I asked for a better fitting one, they said, “Oh, we don’t think so”.

Almost every request I made was ignored or dismissed. His lips were very dry and I couldn’t understand why nobody was moistening them. I used my own lip salve on them.

‘I saw a nurse in the corridor and asked her why my husband wasn’t in intensive care. She just said, “There are lots worse than him”, and walked on.

‘Previously, I had asked another nurse if a doctor had seen him that day, and she said: “No, but we know what to do.”

To me, that meant “We’ll do nothing”. It was almost as if someone, somewhere, had decided they weren’t going to do anything more for Owen, although he was obviously very ill.
Six weeks ago, Owen Roberts died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, pictured

Six weeks ago, Owen Roberts died, aged 73, of pneumonia he had contracted while at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, pictured

‘He was very cold, because a patient in the next bed had a fan that was blowing cold air over him and Owen had only thin cotton blankets on his bed.

‘There was no one observing him. You ask yourself: “Where is everyone? Where are the nurses? Why is no one doing anything?”

‘You kick yourself that you didn’t stand in the corridor and scream, but when you’re an MP, you’re concerned about throwing your weight around. And you think, “I’m in a specialist hospital, with people who’ve been professionally trained” — and you assume they know what they’re doing.

‘But a basic element of good care was missing: compassion.

‘Owen lived with great dignity and fortitude, but when he died, he was treated with contempt. And I believe the fact that the nurses and doctors failed in their duty of care contributed to his death.’

Owen Roberts was an Oxford graduate, a man of dazzling intellect and gentle wit, who met Ann when they were both young broadcast journalists. He went on to become a distinguished director and producer on Welsh television.

They had no children and Ann entered politics — and became MP for her Welsh constituency in 1984. She later became Tony Blair’s special envoy on human rights in Iraq.

When Owen died in October, they had been married for 49 years.
Ann Clwyd was the UK special envoy for Human Rights in Iraq from 2003 to 2010. She is pictured during a visit to the Welsh Guards in Iraq

For 30 years he had suffered from MS, but had borne adversity with courage. Two years ago, in 2010, he fractured his leg in a fall and had a partial hip replacement, which left him confined to a wheelchair. But he lived at home in South Wales with Ann, who combined her parliamentary duties with looking after him.

He was ‘spirited, aware and intellectually curious’ and had enjoyed a visit from an old friend, an Oxford professor, just days before he collapsed on October 10 and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

At the hospital, Owen was allocated a bed in an open area of the A&E department, near the nurses’ station. Ann was told he would be kept in for observation, but she did not want to leave him until she had established that he would be sent to a ward.

She recalls: ‘Every time I tried to talk to one of the nurses, they were either on the phone or talking to one another. I know they were busy, but it did not explain how they could completely ignore a patient.

‘Whenever I asked when we’d see someone, the answer was always: “In a minute.” There was busy-ness, laughter, joking?…?but nobody addressed our concerns.

‘A doctor arrived with a tick list. He was brusque, arrogant and rude — he didn’t even introduce himself. When I asked, “What’s your name?”, he looked at me as if I’d said something impertinent. After he’d asked his questions, he just went off.

‘All this time, I hadn’t been offered a chair or a word of explanation. I’d expected at least some reassurance. But it was as if the nurses were in their little world. There was a feeling of total isolation’

Faced with this, Ann sent a text message to her PA, begging her to ask for help on her behalf.

Two-and-a-half hours later, a doctor arrived and assured her that Owen would be sent to a respiratory ward. Ann duly went home — but 24 hours later, her husband was still in A&E.

Meanwhile, Ann became ill herself, with a chest infection, and was unable to visit her husband — who’d now, finally, been transferred to a ward — for fear of infecting him and other patients.

Instead, friends and family popped in every day and she sought reports on his condition by phone. Often, she was thwarted. ‘I’d be told his nurse wasn’t there, or was on a tea break. I asked to speak to him on the phone, but they told me it was a facility they didn’t offer.’
The MP wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients

The MP wept in the House of Commons this week when she asked the Prime Minister what he intended to do about nurses who fail to show compassion for their patients

Owen was diagnosed with sleep apnoea, a treatable disorder characterised by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep. He was, Ann was told, to be given a mask to wear at night to help regularise his breathing. It never materialised.

However, she spoke on the phone to a staff nurse, who offered a hopeful and cheering prognosis, predicting that Owen should be able to return home the following week.

The next day, however, Ann had a call from a consultant, telling her that he was very worried. “We think he’s got pneumonia,” he said.

‘I was stunned; panicked. I rushed in with my niece, and they told me he was not responding to antibiotics.’ Owen’s condition deteriorated sharply. Ann recalls the eight hours she spent at his bedside on the day before he died, on October 23.

‘I took in a catalogue of shirts and ties that had arrived in the post because he loved colourful ties and I thought he’d find it a bit of a joke. I showed it to him and he said, in Welsh, “Tomorrow”. It was the last word he said to me.’

‘I sat by his bed and he was breathing with his oxygen mask on. One of his eyes was inflamed and watering, so I asked for a nurse to wipe it. But no one came. So I got a tissue from my bag.

‘I sat at his bedside from 2.30pm until 10.30pm and, as far as I recall, no one said anything to us. No one asked me if I wanted a cup of tea. It was as if I was invisible.

‘There was one ward round, and I stood in a corridor while they pulled the curtains around Owen’s bed. They were gone in a flash, and I’ve no idea what went on.

‘I tried to reassure him, so that he didn’t feel abandoned. He was very cold — as he had been all the time he was in hospital. I put red socks on him — he always liked red socks — and I sat and held his hand.’

When Ann returned home, she texted a friend: ‘No doctor has been since this morning. Very few nurses around either. Not very happy with the set-up.’ That night, she slept fitfully for a few hours, and was called back to the hospital at 5?am.

‘I was in a state of shock. I got dressed very quickly and put on a red coat that Owen loved.

‘My neighbour Geraldine came with me, and when we got there and found Owen’s knee squashed against the side bars of the bed. We pushed a pillow in between to make him more comfortable. His feet were sticking out of the end of the bed and he was cold. Geraldine got a towel and put it over his feet.

‘I’d once got a bill through parliament to improve the welfare of battery hens, and I remember thinking he looked so cramped and squashed he was just like one.

‘I just sat there and stroked his arm. I was afraid to do anything — but I was in a university teaching hospital and I thought they must know what they were doing.

‘It was all a bit of a haze, but I remember thinking: “Why aren’t they doing anything?” I tried to say encouraging words. I wanted to reassure him, to let him know that I was there.

‘I’d never seen anyone die before, but when I saw the blood draining from Owen’s face, I just knew that he was dead.
As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off – but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time’

As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off – but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time’

‘Just at that moment, a nurse came in with a trolley crying out: “Anyone for breakfast?” It was only a four-bed ward, and she showed indifference bordering on callousness. It was, for me, a very emotionally draining time — and I believe care and dignity were not there. Owen was treated with contempt.’

As Ann’s husband died, there was a sudden flurry of activity. ‘People rushed in, tore his mask off — but it was too little too late. And I suspect it had been for some time.’

A few days after her husband’s funeral, Ann returned to work. Friends had told her that work was the best therapy — but six weeks on, sleep eludes her.

For her, solace comes in the form of campaigning so that others do not suffer as her husband did. ‘This is why I’ve forced myself to speak out. I’ve had hundreds of supportive emails, and one retired GP wrote: “I felt ashamed of my profession and I cried at your distress.”

‘I don’t want any redress for myself, but I want to start a campaign. I just want to flag up the lack of compassion.

‘We all know nurses work under huge pressure, but so many now have degrees, and it seems to me there is more interest in their qualifications than in the qualities they should show to their patients.

‘Care, compassion, concern: this is what is needed. This is the message I want to get across.’

Mr Adam Cairns, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Chief Executive, said he was keen to meet with Ms Clwyd.

‘I would, of course, like to offer my sincere condolences to Ms Clwyd on the loss of her husband. I have been very concerned to learn of her experiences but, unfortunately, to date, and despite repeated efforts, Ms Clwyd has not responded to our offers to meet with her.

‘As a health board, we always accept responsibility when things don’t go well, which is why we really need Ms Clwyd to help us get to the bottom of what happened in the case of her late husband and to allow us to investigate fully the very serious concerns she has raised.

‘I’ve asked for a review of the case to be undertaken, a process which would be much improved by having information first-hand of the circumstances surrounding this case.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Any person can be a nurse without the degree after an informal internship. Somehow, working so hard and saving so much for a degree sucks the very compassion and humanity necessary to be a good nurse and a good citizen. Modern education is EVIL but in a very subtle way. Thats another reason to avoid those who swear by education, especially HIGHER EDUCATION. I had a dozen or so friends that ‘died’ (dehumanized to point of non-viability as friends) after getting educations.

They never seemed the same. As for hospitals, I’d say that my parents who had some reason to be interred, ALSO ‘died’ and became ‘different’ after their stays. Education and healthcare, even working on a salary in general somehow fracture the souls of those they come into contact with or those working at such places. Try talking to people with less education and compare, while the conversations are mostly less interesting or more limited, the sense of humanity is more intact. There might be some sort of ‘contract’ that the spirit seems to be affected by when using such institutions, not easy to place this occult sort of thing, but most of society excepting the people denouncing or untouched by the overall system make for a very difficult case to put forth, yet we still try and the closing thing to a key I’d say is to study Socialism and Marxism FIRST before getting into the Capitalist and Consumerist world. That is all I can offer to those who are afflicted with what I just described. Modern society is a spiritual sickness of sorts. That and high density living which fosters hive minds ad mob mindedness . . . the other thing that changes a person’s objectivity and ‘true self’, is marriage and family, but that will be for another response . . .

“Jurong Rock Cavern, South-east Asia’s first underground rock cavern for oil storage, with its two access shafts almost completed, will begin its first phase of proper construction at year end, with the first two caverns providing 480,000 cu meters of storage. JRC is located more than 100 meters below Jurong Island’s Banyan Basin and it will provide safe and secure storage for liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil, condensate, naphtha and gasoil. Locating the JRC just beneath Jurong Island will add more infrastructural support to the major chemical companies operating there such as Chevron Philips, ExxonMobil and Shell. Phase 1 of the project will free up about 60ha of usable land above ground and it will create 1.47 million cu metres of storage space, equivalent to 580 Olympic-sized pools, when completed by 2014. The cavern itself will be up to 27 m high – equivalent to a nine-storey building. This first phase will consist of 8km of tunnels and five caverns housing a total of nine storage galleries. The caverns will be built using a technique that drills and blasts sedimentary rock and for greater stability, the inner wall will be lined with rock bolts. A planned phase 2 of the project will double JRC’s storage capacity. GK-JCPL Consortium, a Jurong International partnership with French engineering firm Geostock, has previously been awarded the contract to in providing basic engineering design and construction management services for the caverns and associated facilities. Jurong International is also previously responsible for many of the heavy infrastructure and engineering projects associated with Jurong Island including its initial formation via reclamation and amalgamation of seven islands.”

Why we need such a deep storage in granite…300 feet below the surface? Just hoping its not for nuclear plant or weapons storage.

Hyundai clinches $890m Jurong Rock Cavern contract – by RONNIE LIM

CONSTRUCTION proper of Singapore’s underground oil storage project is finally set to start with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction clinching the main $890 million ‘design and build’ contract this week from JTC Corporation.

Actual building under this contract, for the first phase of Jurong Rock Cavern (JRC), begins at year- end, with the first two caverns providing 480,000 cubic metres of oil storage when ready in the first half of 2013.

The entire phase one, comprising five caverns, will offer a total of 1.47 million cu m when completed by 2014.

This will make the JRC slightly larger than the $470 million, 1.24 million cu m tankfarm of Horizon Terminals, but about two- thirds that of Hin Leong Trading’s $750 million, 2.3 million cu m Universal Terminal – Asia’s largest commercial storage.

The project had earlier run into some delays, although Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry S Iswaran last month gave the assurance that Singapore was committed to the JRC which would help alleviate the land shortage on Jurong Island.

Investors have not been able to get land there to build more above-ground oil terminals needed by oil refiners and traders to store their oil and petrochemical products.

So despite being behind schedule and slightly above cost, the JRC will provide necessary infrastructure for Singapore’s oil hub, especially once the rebound comes.

The cost for phase one of JRC – being built under Banyan Basin – has run up by about one-third to $940 million from an earlier estimate of $700 million.

This includes the $50 million for two access shafts and start-up galleries – which are almost completed – to facilitate construction.

The chosen operator of the JRC – earlier expected to be announced at the same time as the main construction award – will, however, only be made known by mid-year, JTC officials indicated yesterday.

Existing terminal operators here such as Royal Vopak of Holland and Emirates National Oil Company are known to be vying for this.

The main construction award came 11/2 years after the tender was first called by JTC in late-2007.

Asked why it took that long, given that there were only two bidders (the other being South Korea’s SK Engineering), the spokesman explained that ‘it’s a huge tender which involved a lot of detailed work and is very complex’.

The work is being done 130m below the seabed, and Hyundai – which has experience with such projects in Taiwan and Korea – has to carry out ‘drill and blast’ excavation using explosives, he added.

The entire phase one will involve eight kilometres of tunnels, with five caverns made up of two storage galleries, with each gallery being 340m long, 20m wide and 27m high. (About nine-storeys high, each gallery is large enough to contain water from over 64 Olympic-sized pools).

‘The water pressure will keep the oil contained within the generally unlined rock caves,’ the spokesman said.

The higher project cost arose due to improvements made to the cavern designs to enhance operational flexibility, he explained.

A planned phase two of the JRC could add a further 1.3 million cu m of storage, doubling its capacity.

Asked if this could cost more than phase one, the spokesman said that ‘the complexity is similar, so it depends on the timing (of when the project is done)’.

I have a sneaky feeling its for something nuclear. It was mentioned before by our MIWs that Singapore may go nuclear in the future. Since when they tell u the truth about anything until TOO LATE or that we manage to ‘DIG’ things up trawling the internet. I have a real sneaky feeling about this ‘cavern’. Anyone have a map where this 8km cavern is located precisely? Dont want to live above it just in case. It’s in Jurong but where EXACTLY? “You can fool some of the people some of the time….BUT, you cannot fool ALL the people ALL of the time…

WHICH PARTY’S SLOGAN IS……We Aim To Fool The Majority All The Time?”

Re: Jurong Rock Cavern To Store What? Scary Thought…Nuclear Plant?

Quote Originally Posted by red amoeba View Post

the location for sure will be top secret. No lah, the big lobang is for oil. For weapons or ammo, it would be somewhere else. Instead of hving thse giantic tanks like big targets for terrorist, safer to store them underground. The MIWs have been telling too many lies that its hard to believe them anymore. Even if for oil, there must be air-vents to the surface. i like to know where these air vents are so as not to visit the area too frequently. These air vents should be spewing out invisible chemicals “You can fool some of the people some of the time….BUT, you cannot fool ALL the people ALL of the time…

WHICH PARTY’S SLOGAN IS……We Aim To Fool The Majority All The Time?”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Kiasu at the taxpayer’s expense? MM 4 million+ yearly, SM 4 million+ yearly, ON TOP of the President and Prime Minister’s posts . . . which 99% of Singaporeans said those salaries were legal? Obama earns 400K a year and USA is 1000s of times more than Singapore? Meritocracy or Institutionalized/Legalized Corruption?

ARTICLE 14

China to flatten 700 mountains for new metropolis in the desert – Lanzhou new area plan to begin with ‘mountain-moving project’, but financial and environmental wisdom of project questioned – Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing – guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 December 2012 17.48 GMT

A long, long time ago, an old Chinese peasant named Yu Gong decided to move two inconveniently located mountains away from blocking the entrance to his home. Legend has it he struggled terribly, but ultimately succeeded. Hence the Chinese idiom “Yu Gong moves the mountains.” Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Now Chinese developers are putting old Yu to shame.

In what is being billed as the largest “mountain-moving project” in Chinese history, oneof China’s biggest construction firms will spend £2.2bn to flatten 700 mountains levelling the area Lanzhou, allowing developers to build a new metropolis on the outskirts of the north-western city.

The Lanzhou New Area, 500 square miles (130,000 hectares) of land 50 miles from the city, which is the provincial capital of arid Gansu province, could increase the region’s gross domestic product to £27bn by 2030, according to the state-run China Daily. It has already attracted almost £7bn of corporate investment.

The project will be China’s fifth “state-level development zone” and the first in the country’s rapidly developing interior, according to state media reports. Others include Shanghai’s Pudong and Tianjin’s Binhai, home to a half-built, 120-building replica of Manhattan. China’s state council, its highest administrative authority, approved the Lanzhou project in August.

The first stage of the mountain-flattening initiative, which was reported on Tuesday by the China Economic Weekly magazine, began in late October and will eventually enable a new urban district almost 10 square miles in size northeast of downtown Lanzhou – a small, but important part of the Lanzhou Nnew area project to be built.

One of the country’s largest private companies: the Nanjing-based China Pacific Construction Group, headed by Yan Jiehe, is behind the initiative. The 52-year-old former teacher is portrayed in China as a sort of home-grown Donald Trump – ultra-ambitious and preternaturally gifted at navigating the country’s vast network of “guanxi”, or personal connections.

Yan was born in the 1960s as the youngest of nine children. After a decade of working as a high-school teacher and cement plant employee, he founded his construction firm in 1995 and amassed a fortune by buying and revamping struggling state-owned enterprises. In 2006 the respected Hu Run report named Yan – then worth about £775m – as China’s second-richest man.

His latest plan has evoked a healthy dose of scepticism. Lanzhou, home to 3.6 million people alongside the silty Yellow River, already has major environmental concerns. Last year the World Health Organisation named it the city with the worst air pollution in China. The city’s main industries include textiles, fertiliser production and metallurgy.

Liu Fuyuan, a former high-level official at the country’s National Development and Reform Commission, told China Economic Weekly that the project was unsuitable because Lanzhou is frequently listed as among China’s most chronically water-scarce municipalities. “The most important thing is to gather people in places where there is water,” he said.

Others also pointed to the financial risk of building a new city in the middle of the desert. “All this investment needs to be paid back with residential land revenue, and I don’t see much on returns in these kinds of cities,” said Tao Ran, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. “If you have a booming real estate market it might work, but it seems to me that real estate in China is very, very risky.”

In an email interview, a China Pacific Construction Group spokeswoman dismissed criticisms of the project as unjustified. “Lanzhou’s environment is already really poor, it’s all desolate mountains which are extremely short of water,” said Angie Wong. “Our protective style of development will divert water to the area, achieve reforestation and make things better than before.”

Yan’s plans could be considered “a protective style of development, and a developmental style of protection”, she said, adding: “I think whether it’s England or America, or any other country, no one will cease development because of resource scarcity caused by geography.”

A promotional video posted on the Lanzhou new area website shows a digitally-rendered cityscape of gleaming skyscrapers and leafy parks. Against a driving operatic score, the camera zooms out from a large government building to reveal features of the area’s imagined urban topography: a clock tower, a new airport, an oil refinery, a light-rail system, and a stadium packed with cheering fans.

The new area “will lead to an environmentally sustainable economy based on energy-saving industries” including advanced equipment manufacturing, petrochemical industries and modern agriculture, wrote Chinese Central Television on its website.

The Lanzhou city government could not be reached for comment.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

There is no such thing as ‘real estate’, this has tremendous occult significance instead. Note the location and surrounding quake zones. This is a fengshui confluence city that looks set to be filled with life energy if not mistaken or even able to somehow harness the energy at the safe point. Concept of money and real estate is a farce btw. Save for allodial titles backed by force of arms, real goods and real labour/services, or the whimsical entertainments of the RLD, OPZ or Casino city, there is nothing on this planet but evil politicians term limitless and nepotistic, along with plutocrats (those who are BOTH politician and plutocrat are the worst) that sequester wealth and pollute the environment.

European Commission letter to House of Lords says Scotland’s membership will ‘cease to apply’ if it breaks away from the UK / Spanish government would block entry, fearing it would embolden Catalonian separatists

Brussels will refuse to let Scotland automatically join the European Union if voters back Alex Salmond’s plans for independence, it emerged today.

Officials at the European Commission have revealed Scotland’s EU membership will ‘cease to apply’ if it is no longer part of the UK.

The Spanish government has made clear it would ‘veto’ any attempt by Scotland to join.

It is a major blow to claims made by Mr Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, that Scotland would automatically continue to be in the Euro bloc.

He was ridiculed after claiming in a TV interview that he had obtained legal advice on EU membership but it had to remain secret. He later admitted no advice had been sought.

Now it has emerged that a letter sent to a House of Lords committee warns that that independence ‘would not have a neutral impact’.

Scotland would become a ‘third country’ – outside the EU and have to apply to join the 27-member union, the European Commission told the Lords economic affairs committee.

‘If a territory of a member state ceases to be part of that member state because it has become an independent state then the treaties would cease to apply to that territory,’ according to the letter reported by The Scotsman.

If Scotland did lodge an application it would need to ‘fulfil the usual obligations’ and be ‘accepted unanimously by the members of the council [member states]’.

In a recent debate, Lib Dem Lord Wallace revealed the UK government was clear that any attempt for Scotland to join the EU would meet with difficulties.

‘On the question of Catalonia and Spain, it is entirely clear that the Spanish Government are opposed to any idea of secession and would be likely to veto a Scottish application to join the European Union under current circumstances.

There have been exchanges between the Spanish Government and the European Commission on this exact issue.’

The Spanish government fears that if an independent Scotland gained membership it would bolster calls for Catalonian independence.

It directly contradicts claims made by Mr Salmond’s SNP, who have repeatedly suggested Scotland would automatically join the EU as a new state.
The Scottish independence referendum is being held in autumn 2014, when Mr Salmond hopes to capitalise on a patriotic mood marking 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

The Scottish independence referendum is being held in autumn 2014, when Mr Salmond hopes to capitalise on a patriotic mood marking 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn

SNP MP Pete Wishart told the Commons last month: ‘Scotland is a constituent part of the United Kingdom. We are currently a member of the European Union. After independence, we will continue to be a member of the European Union.’

But Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire told the same debate that ‘everything would change’ if Scots vote to go it alone in the referendum due in autumn 2014.

An independent Scotland would not automatically be a member of the EU and would have to ‘start afresh’, he added.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘Immediately following a Yes vote in Autumn 2014, Scotland will still be part of the UK. Negotiations will then take place on the transfer of powers from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament along with negotiations on the specific terms of an independent Scotland’s continued membership of the European Union.

‘Ministers have always been clear that these negotiations will be needed – but the crucial point is that they will take place from within the EU.

‘Scotland has been an integral part of the European Union for almost four decades and an independent Scotland will continue in EU membership. As legal, constitutional and European experts have confirmed, Scotland is part of the territory of the European Union and the people of Scotland are citizens of the EU, and there is no provision for those circumstances to change upon independence.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

I wouldn’t worry if I were Salmond or Scotland. When Scotland becomes a sovereign state and possibly banking or hub for BRICS, Brussels will change their tone to the effect that automatic joining will be forestalled by going through the motions of ‘starting afresh’. This is terribly manipulative but a face saving necessity.

Scotland presents a great opportunity for BRICS by being sidelined in this manner by EU. BRICS well needs a friendly point to the EU by and if the EU has decided to distance from Scotland then BRICS would certainly find Scotland that much more attractive, not that EU and BRICS are in any spat that Scotland is already not aware of. UN can even drop Scotland, but so long as BRICS is around the multipolar world will balance things out.

An independent Scotland would not automatically be a member of the EU and would have to ‘start afresh’, he added. Well thats just pretentious. And if by some impossibility that Scotland fails to join EU, the BRICS will be very happy to have a new member EVEN IF Scotland becomes the North Korea of the EU. Like a trust fund under guardianship and insulting as hell to Scotland to the tune of a deflated bagpipe gasping a sour note of contrived control. I’m not Scottish but already feel offended on the Scots’ behalf. Incidentally, try the CGI “Brave”, the settings make the Scots into a circus, main characters are ‘fractured’ as hell and an unhealthy role model . . .

Sometimes a highly individualistic name for a baby is not good news for a kid, says Dean Obeidallah

Editor’s note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog “The Dean’s Report” and co-director of the upcoming documentary “The Muslims Are Coming!” Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy

(CNN) — Siri, Mars, Mac and Luna. I’m not talking Apple products or planetary terms. These are baby names. And not just any baby names but ones that have jumped in popularity in 2012, according to Baby Center.com’s just released list.

Baby Siri? Seriously, who would name their bundle of joy after a frustrating Apple product that hardly ever works? And speaking of Apple (see daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin,) that name moved up a whopping 585 places on the list of names for girls born in 2012. So there could conceivably be a family out there with a daughter named Apple and a son named Siri. (Hope that entitles the family to a discount on an iMac.)

There was a time when bizarre baby naming was something only celebrities did to their kids (as if being the child of a celebrity wasn’t challenging enough). There’s Beyonce and Jay Z’s Blue Ivy, Penn Jillette’s son, Moxie Crimefighter, Bono’s daughter Memphis Eve, actor Jason Lee’s son Pilot Inspektor, and the list goes on and on.
Dean Obeidallah

But now this “condition” is apparently spreading to the rest of us. In addition to the offbeat names above, 2011 saw babies sporting such names as: Moo, Draper, Graceland and Tequila.

There are even media reports that this past weekend some parents allegedly named their newborn daughter, Hashtag. That one may turn out to be an Internet hoax, but after last year’s story of a child in Egypt being named Facebook (in praise of the role Facebook played in the Egyptian revolution), we can’t be too far from babies named Retweet and Spam Blocker anyway. It truly is only a matter of time until you meet a kid named DVR or Playstation 3.
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Apparently some parents believe that giving their child a jaw-dropping name will make him or her more distinctive. News flash: it’s not the name that makes your child stand out, it’s his or her achievements.

While I don’t want to rain on creativity, let’s be honest — these weird names are more about parents showing off their “cleverness” than about finding a name that fits the child. It’s not like the parents got to know the child first for a few months and then said, “You know this baby really is a little Siri.”
Beyonce, Jay-Z welcome baby Blue Ivy
Jolie: We are all Malala

And do these parents even consider that a baby’s name can cause consequences for the child that the parents never imagined, and in many areas of the child’s life? When I reflect upon my own name, I realize that my life could have been far different if my parents had followed their initial instincts when naming me.

My Palestinian father wanted to name me Saladin after the famous Muslim leader, while my Sicilian mother wanted to name me Dino. Instead they compromised on Dean.

Growing up in North Jersey, Dean was not a common name. But it actually made me feel different in a good way being the only Dean in my class. And even today in looking at the list of baby names for 2012, I was actually happy that Dean was not in the top 100.

Still, the truth is, if I’d been named Dino, I would have certainly been viewed as more ethnic by teachers, potential employers and co-workers. I would have been required to continually overcome cultural stereotypes.

And if I’d been named the very Arabic Saladin Obeidallah, you could just imagine all the “fun” I would have had in post-9/11 America. I would have likely volunteered for “random” security checks at the airport to make it easier for all involved or simply got used to taking the bus cross country.

But there’s a difference between a name that isn’t overly common and naming your child after your favorite appliance. A name is a big part of a kid’s identity. It can trigger impressions about a child even before we meet him or her — a particular problem among the closed-minded of the world, but this is the world your child will have to navigate.

For example, studies have found that children with names that linguistically sound like they come from a lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be recommended by school officials for gifted classes and actually more likely to be labeled as learning disabled.

Other research has revealed that boys with feminine sounding names — such as Shannon or Ashley — have had more disciplinary problems in school because of their response to teasing. Still other studies have found a link between how much people like their own names and their level of self-esteem.

So, parents, keep in mind that your choice of name will have a lasting impact on your child — both for good and bad. And if you insist on picking a bizarre name for the baby, then I propose that your child be empowered to rename you with any name he or she chooses. At least then it’s fair that a child named Hashtag has parents named Angry Birds and YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

In the past there were in some cultures NAMING CEREMONIES AT ADULTHOOD. The child would choose a name LATER, and all children knew their names when young were TEMPORARY and that parents chose those names. Sometimes what the child did that was most unique would also decide what that child was RENAMED at adulthood. So ‘Hashtag’ away and legalise/normalise name changing at the age of 21. Knowing that names are temporary and chosen by parents, kids would not be affected by teasing because they knew they were going to change that name, or the teasers would not bother to tease knowing the name would also change by then.

An anti right-to-work protester is seen outside of Michigan’s state capitol building in Lansing December 11, 2012. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

(Reuters) – Michigan enacted a ban on mandatory union membership on Tuesday, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States.

As more than 12,000 unionized workers and supporters protested at the Capitol in Lansing, the Republican-led state House of Representatives gave final approval to a pair of “right-to-work” bills covering public- and private-sector unions.

Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed the bills into law as soon as they reached his desk, completing in a few days a campaign to make Michigan the 24th U.S. state to prohibit unions from requiring employees to join and contribute dues.

“I view this as an opportunity to stand up for Michigan’s workers, to be pro-worker,” Snyder told a news conference after he signed the bills.

The laws will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which means they will probably come into force sometime in April. Existing union contracts will not be changed until they expire, according to a provision of the laws.

In a rapid turn of events, Michigan moved from being a bastion of union influence to joining states, mostly in the South, that have weakened local protections for unions.

The Teamsters union national president, James Hoffa, whose father, Jimmy Hoffa, was one of the nation’s most famous labor leaders until he disappeared in 1975 in Michigan, denounced Republican leaders in a speech to the protesters.

“Let me tell the governor and all those elected officials who vote for this shameful, divisive bill – there will be repercussions,” Hoffa said, adding the Republicans could be defeated in the next election.

Unions have accused Snyder of caving in to wealthy Republican business owners and political donors such as the Koch brothers, owners of an energy and trading conglomerate, and Richard DeVos, the co-founder of Michigan-based Amway.

Snyder, a former computer company executive who had said “right-to-work” legislation was too divisive for Michigan, changed course last week and announced his support for it.

While labor leaders decried the legislation, Republican Representative Lisa Lyons said during the debate in the House that such laws were not an attack on unions.

“This is the day Michigan freed its workers,” she said.

Opponents argue that the measures undermine a basic union tenet of bargaining collectively with employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions. They also allow workers to opt out of a union, potentially reducing membership.

By weakening unions, Republicans also could hurt the Democratic Party, which traditionally receives a significant portion of its funding and grass-roots support from unions.

Supporters of right-to-work measures say some unions have become too rigid and workers should be given a choice of whether to join. They also say a more flexible labor market encourages business investment, citing “right-to-work” states where some foreign automakers have put plants rather than in Michigan.

CRIES OF ‘SHAME’

The measures were approved to cries of “shame” from protesters inside the Capitol building, which was closed to visitors when it reached capacity of 2,200, Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk said.

An estimated 10,000 more people demonstrated outside in cold and snowy conditions, including members of the United Auto Workers union, and teachers, who shut down several schools in the state to attend the rally.

A few protesters were ejected from the Capitol after they chanted slogans from the gallery during the debate. Protesters tore down two tents set up for supporters of “right-to-work” on the grounds of the Capitol. Adamczyk said six people were arrested after scuffling with officers.

A mixture of pepper spray and tear gas was used on one person, Adamczyk said, although Reuters journalists also saw protesters sprayed with a substance at a government building near the Capitol.

The protests recalled big rallies in Wisconsin nearly two years ago when Republicans voted to curb public-sector unions. Wisconsin never tried to pass “right-to-work” bills.

But Indiana earlier this year became the first state in the industrial Midwest to approve “right-to-work” legislation and several other states are watching the Michigan action closely.

LEGAL CHALLENGES LOOM

Republicans in Michigan were also emboldened by the defeat in the November election of a ballot initiative backed by unions that would have enshrined the right to collective bargaining in the state constitution.

Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. The state has the fifth highest percentage of workers who are union members, at 17.5 percent

The Detroit area is headquarters for General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler, which is majority-owned by Fiat SpA.

The UAW was founded in Michigan after a 1932 protest at a Ford plant in Dearborn left five people dead, increasing public sympathy for industrial workers during the Great Depression and leading to national legislation protecting unions.

Major automakers, which secured concessions from the UAW after nearly going bankrupt during the recession of 2008-09, were careful not to take sides publicly in the fight.

All of the so-called Big Three domestic automakers said they were “neutral” on “right-to-work,” even though the Michigan Chamber of Commerce strongly supports it.

“At Ford, we are focused on working with all our partners, including the UAW,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Democrats and unions have vowed to challenge the new laws in the courts, to try to overturn them in a ballot initiative and possibly oust through recall elections some Republicans who voted for the measures.

Democratic Representative Douglas Geiss said “right-to-work” laws would lead to a resumption of the battles surrounding the creation of unions decades ago.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said.

(Additional reporting by Robert Carr, David Bailey and Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Greg McCune and Peter Cooney)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Reuters?!? A ban on mandatory union membership *IS NOT*, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States. This protects the workers from mob mindedness or being forced into what become SECRET SOCIETIES that also collect yearly dues or other fees that mosy workers who need a union cannot and would rather not pay! Work unions are powerful and goodly when CONSENSUAL, but when EEVERY WORKER IS FORCED TO JOIN, we end up with ‘Satrapies’ run by tyrants, especially if term limits in the COMMITTEE are not a fact or part of the constitution of the Union in question. This law protects the individual worker by giving OPTIONS. How could Reuters write such news?!?

‘Supporters of right-to-work measures say some unions have become too rigid and workers should be given a choice of whether to join. They also say a more flexible labor market encourages business investment, citing “right-to-work” states where some foreign automakers have put plants rather than in Michigan.’ This says everything.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said.

Oh yea? So what if they don;t join or don’t pay. If they don’t want to pay the union mafia, thats their choice. Why should there be any fights at all. Are these unions thugs?

i fuckin hate this religion ,i grew up in muslim majority country and i can say muslims are full of shitt even though i don’t hate muslims i hate islam “To Muslims it is always a just war if the end goal is to spread Islam. If the war is waged by non Muslims to stop Muslims from marching in to spread Islam inside their land, it is an unjust war…Many Muslims call for da’wa in the West, which technically means “an invitation to Islam.” They present it as a “peaceful” invitation, but they do not tell the West that this is the first step before outright war if their da’wa is rejected. So when Muslims say da’wa, the West should be warned, because they do not want you to know that da’wa is merely the “make nice” first step before preceding outright jihad.” 7:56 PM

Blogger Gabe Del said…

I’m a witness to the ignorance that is Muslim . I’m a US Marine forward deployed on my 5th combat deployment. Four in Iraq and now one in afghanastan . These guys are illiterate and simple minded. The ten percent that can read will twist young Muslims minds to make them believe what ever they want them to believe in their Gods name. Kill, kill, kill is what they teach them against anyone not Muslim. There Koran teaches peace and good will, but I agree, history tells the truth of what kind of people they really are. No need to swear or lower yourself to their level. Muslims are the infection this world so desperately needs a cure for. 10:19 AM

Dead Ted said…

So your saying that the sneak attack on our towers, the pentagon, and the White House is a way to protect their land and people? Good plan worked wonders…some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever read 2:38 PM

Blogger Red_Rooster said…

Their minds are f***ed, memorizing the fucking Koran. Their ‘thinking’ part of the brain has gone redundant. They hate the Jews but do everything the Jews do; do not eat pork, cut their dicks, bleed a poor animal to death and call it ‘Hallal’ instead of ‘Kosher’, write backwards and wash their dicks before they start praying. In fact, the dumb muslims, follow the Jewish calender! The first day for the muslims is ‘Yom al Ahed’, meaning the first day. It is the Sunday; the first Jewish day after the Sabath. Yom al Itneen, Yom al thalata, Robo, Khamis and Juma, stand for the second, third, fouth, fifth and sixth day. The muslims 7th. day, is ‘Yom al Septh’; literally meaning, the seventh day. In fact, the Sabath; the day the Jews were told to rest. The muslims only differ from the Jews, is in their day of rest. They rest a day before the Jews. In prayer, physically they are the same, except the Jews literally tell you they are fucking somebody, while the muslims tell you, “Fuck Me!”

samy said…

to Jihan

I know what is written in Quraan , i was forced to read and even memorize it at school when I was living in my mother country before migrate to canada ( thank God), the true islam relegion is violence .. force other people to convert otherwise they will be islam enemy and should be killed .. this is what written in Quraan and you knw it and can not deny it… even in here in canada they are trying to force the stubid islamic belives on other people and their ultimate goal is to take over north america and europ .. I hope that our government to wake up and realise what is going on … WAKE UUUPPPP.., islam is evil , muslims are twisted minded and hate everyone simply because he or she is not muslim !!!! they will be in everlasting HELL.. this is the simple plan truth, so what ever you or any muslim try to say otherwise .. it is a BIGGGGG LIE.!! 10:45 AM

Event_Horizon said…

They are so backward in all aspects of life including commerce, infrastructure or technology. They are a brainwashed nation thirsty for the blood of other successful nations. And the worst part is their fucked up religion acts as a catalyst. It inspires them to wage was over the world. For how long will the world continue to tolerate these freaks of religion? The muslims sole mission in life is to create terror in the world. That is what they live for, that’s what their religion teaches them. They are jealous of the developed countries . . . P.S. Muslims smell bad…..True Story! 12:38 PM

Blogger Pris said…

I love all other religions except islam. Muslims are truly f***** up, but don’t know any better because they are brainwashed and left with no brains. Watch all the muslim countries in the world, none of their economies are doing well. The ones that have oil may have money, but they have no infrastructure, no scientific manpower etc. These assholes come to the west for a better life and then try to force their evil religion, customs, traditions and damn sharia law on the free citizens of the world. If left to thrive these guys will make our western nations deteriorate to the abysmal level of the muslim countries they came from. Their goal is to dominate the world and so they multiply like rats to increase their numbers. Before they become a sizable population in the west we should send these guys, including the ones that were born or converted in the west, to muslim countries and contain them there. Let them over populate muslim countries . . . are contaminating the west and so should be stopped before it is too late. To start off, we need to prohibit building of mosques and islamic schools, and publishing of the unholy koran. We need to unite and end this evil.

Blogger TheDeathBird said…

I know a family who left Lebanon to flee Muslim persecution. One of their grandsons returned to visit. On this trip there was a man yelling on the TV set in his hotel room. The man was protesting being fined a cow for shooting his wife for being outside the house. She had crossed a field and a man on a horse said something to her, since he didn’t get a clear shot at the man. Since he could not prove the man was really talking to his wife they fined him a cow. This is Muslim law this is what the Koran teaches. Also, in the Koran a woman told her husband to stop following Mohamid or she would leave She believed Mo was a bad evil monster. Her husband begged her to not talk bad about Mo but since She wouldn’t stop talking bad about Mohamid and She was Pregnant he cut his unborn child out of her belly. He went to Mo and told him and Mohamid said ” I can find no fault with this man” OK people this Story is in the Koran! can you imagine any other spiritual leader like Jesus or Krishna saying something like that! Only the spawn of hell the son of Satan the true Anti Christ would say such a thing Muslims worship the devil their God lives in hell and eats the faithful Muslims for dinner. While pretending to be God. Let any Muslim tell us that story isn’t in the Koran I read it! they follow this monster Mohamido the vile and say he is good. Anyone who reads the Koran who has any love inside them or spirtuality will be sad such a vile work of hate can be considered a work inspired by God. 7:48 PM

sexyharry said…

these guys(muslims) when small in numbers behave as if they are good (we respect other religions,and our god is tolerant etc.) but reality is there quran teaches to hate,kill people who doesn’t believe in islam, some of muslims are good as they doesn’t follow islam properly…….as muslims number increases they will be no more friend of urs ,they will take the side their muslim brothers and try to implement the shariah law’s,blasts,killing who leaves islam……so,i am a guy from sanathan dharam,in our religion we respect every other religion and our religion doesn’t believe in conversion bcoz god resides in us not by simple conversion…..so,i love all religions except islam ………4:02 AM

Blogger vsindia said…

Thes muslims are really lowly creatures. all the terrorists in this world are muslims. how can screw muslims ?

– stop giving them jobs
– shun them publicly
– make separate , stricter laws for muslims
– lets convert all their kids after killing the men
– lets creat gas chambers once again – only for muslims/

I hate them so much that my fist clench and jaws go tight when i think of these bastards. They have forcibly thrown out hindus out of kashmir and christians out of bosnia.

4:42 AM

mark said…

not all muslims are bad but I am sick of them. I am sick of them coming to the west and demanding that shariah law be implemented in western nations. if muzzies think shariah law is so great then they should piss off and go live in a muslim nation.

sick of their fantical hate and terrorism.
sick of their demands and sick of their backward ways.
muslims should go and live in muslim nations and keep their shit ways in muslim nations.

10:08 PM

Blogger marine corps captain said…

JIHAN,

I have taken significant time to read your Koran. And I would rather wipe my ass with a dirty, dime store novel than waste another minute reading, or listening, to that complete pile of pig cum.
Thank GOD I had the opportunity to kill 19 of your brethren while in Iraq. 19 less jihadists on the move.
It’s not ignorance my camel fucking friend…I completely understand your beliefs, motives and wants for this world. And if given the chance I would end your life as well. And your family’s and friend’s lives if possible.
And please refrain from the old tag line of “That’s not true Islam.” Any individual with a 3rd grade education has the ability to understand your religion of hate, murder, suppresion and penchant for death. Watch your back, Muhhamed…you won’t have a second chance with me. 8:23 AM

Fighting to live said…

Hi guys . I am married to a moslem but I am Greek Orthodox. This is a quite funny mix. Our kids are Christian I made sure . But the Moslems all jokes aside have made and continue to make efforts to convert me. That is quite frightening. My husband offered to convert. So I decided to make him sell everything in Pakistan and the next step is to convert him. Wait and see. Keep up the great work

8:50 PM

Blogger Uncle_Sam said…

this maessage is for the fucking muslims

Long gone are the days when you used to blow yourselves up in the middle of the streets in the countries that you infest with your presence.You forget that we are the ones who created and adopted this so-called human rights but we can also break em! you call yourselves warriors ? Com on up and fight you stinckin’ cowards! we’ll show you what a war means…We’ll show you what everyone felt 65 years ago!We’ll show the Nazi style bitches…we will behead all of your stinckin’ children and your masked-shit-pushed-in wifes… Can u all spell together HOLOCAUST? 3:10 PM

Blogger Red_Rooster said…

sdlfihsdiulkgh54;kuy5b4jgrehthredyth said… This man talks of porn … Tell him to go to Yemen. He can fuck 12 yr. old girls there for free! Three times a day! Free!

I lived in Yemen and I know. All the women go out around noon to eat Kat at their friends’. You just pick these Burka clad women and boy, when they enter your home, the Burka is off in a jiffy! Just like that! Pot luck but fucking lucky evertime I had. I must have fucked over 300 muslim cunts in my 5-year stay there. No worry of husbands. They are all in working in Saudi Arabia; coolies there and their 12 year old brides are getting fucked back home. By the way … all their women have inserted in them, the ‘Copper T’. A muslim Female gynacologist I knew, made a roaring business from inserting these things.

The ruder parts of the above have been edited out. The acts of terror are clear enough, but just from a woman’s angle, one doesn’t need to be a woman to want Islam to end in some places, to see how horrible Muslimahs lives are in some places . . . combine with a chastity belt (Christianity) and wallah, a semi-Cyborg . . . how much do some of the very worse among Muslets hate life or procreation that makes them treat women like this, makes the ‘no condoms’ Catholic lot seem humane even though abortion IS A HUMAN RIGHT.

Full Comment’s Araminta Wordsworth brings you a daily round-up of quality punditry from across the globe. Today: It’s the statistics, stupid!

There are more than 83 million people living in Egypt, the Middle East’s most populous nation; 90% of them are Sunni Muslims. More than half dwell in small towns and villages in the countryside and tend to be deeply conservative, attached to tradition. There is a small, urban, educated upper-middle class of liberals and left-wingers.

If these people get the vote, guess who the majority would go for? Under these circumstances, the dramatic swing from dictatorship through democracy to dictatorship is all too sadly predictable.

Now, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood member who was elected Egyptian president in June, is showing his true colours — he’s like Hosni Mubarak with a beard. He wants nothing less than an Islamic state, with sharia law and Muslim clerics empowered to render legal opinions.

His idea of reaching out to the opposition is to restate his position, as he did in last week’s speech. This was so devoid of anything resembling reconciliation or fresh ideas, the BBC cut off the live feed after about seven minutes.

Instead, Morsi is calling on the military to do his dirty work, arresting and trying civilians. Brotherhood members have also resorted to torture and the kind of vigilante “justice” that was a feature of the ancient regime. In their view, opponents are Mubarak supporters and/or paid troublemakers.

The Economist for one has seen the writing on the wall.

[Morsi’s actions have polarized Egypt’s exhausted people. The most populous and politically pivotal Arab state stands on the brink of prolonged civil strife, or a descent into a form of veiled dictatorship not unlike the one so recently overthrown, only this time in drab Islamist garb …
The abruptness of the Islamists’ lunge for control has ignited Egypt’s hitherto fractious opposition in outrage, prompting protests on the scale of those during the revolution. A group of former presidential candidates has picked Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize-winner and former UN official, as their leader, and threatened strikes and continued protests until Mr. Morsi relents. The judges, who usually run such things, plan to boycott the referendum. But he shows no signs of backing down. Tired, impoverished and apprehensive, ordinary Egyptians may be tempted to let the Muslim Brotherhood have their way.

Morsi remains intent on strictly following the course of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist group wants to see their man, who won a narrow victory in summer elections, to put Egypt on the path to fundamentalist Islam. And the Muslim Brotherhood is in no mood for compromise. After more than 80 years in the political underground, Brotherhood leaders have decided to seize their chance. And Morsi increasingly looks the part of a fainthearted Brotherhood puppet. He appears to have accepted his country’s descent into violence, making more clashes on the streets of Cairo inevitable.

At The National Review, Andrew C. McCarthy says Egypt’s unravelling was inevitable.

Here’s the late-breaking news: The Muslim Brotherhood is the enemy of democracy. … the Muslim Brotherhood is an innately, incorrigibly Islamic-supremacist outfit. Wherever it establishes a presence, it seeks — as gradually as indigenous conditions require, and as rapidly as they allow — to implement its repressive construction of sharia. Wherever it gets the opportunity to rule, it uses its power to impose this sharia, despite resistance from the society’s non-Islamist factions.

This is not a mere theory. Egypt, the world’s most important Arab country, is violently convulsing before our eyes in direct reaction to the suffocation that is Islamist rule. So, will we finally take the lesson? Will we finally come to understand why democracy and Islamic supremacism cannot coexist? Ebrahim Moosa, an Islamic studies prof at North Carolina’s Duke University, believes the Egyptian president and his Islamic allies badly misjudged the situation.

Mr. Morsi seems to have forgotten the sensitivity that a country freshly freed from decades of despotism might feel towards anything with an odour of dictatorship. Secretive and inward-looking, the Brotherhood appears surprised by the depth of mistrust that many Egyptians, including pious Muslims of every social class, feel towards them. The Islamists’ constituency remains large and their organising power formidable. “They will rally the poor with the slogan: to be a Muslim, vote yes for the constitution and confound the infidels,” predicts Muhammad Nour Farahat, a law professor at Cairo’s Zagazig University. Yet even if Mr Morsi and his Brothers manage to pull this off, a heavy cloud will remain over their rule.

Why not the military just take over and do away with the Islamist b.s. and revive a BENEVOLENT Constitutional Pharoanate via DNA testing to determine the closest Royal Egyptian bloodline? A BENEVOLENT Grand Vizier from the military would well be tolerated even for LIFE (if all unused state land is redistribited to the landless or homeless in Egypt) while the country RE-EGYPTIANISES. This would be preferable to this potential threat of the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist imposition of Hudud or Syariah under Morsi which does not need to be written into the constitution and instead remain seperate from the State. Religion and State are not to be confused into a single item under any Islamist leaning Constitution. Let the Muslets impose their own laws on theselves, LEAVE THE SECULARITY OF STATE ALONE.

WHERE IS THE Pharoah’s Brotherhood or Amon-Ra’s Brotherhood to counter the Muslim Brotherhood? Freemasonry across the world could accept no less!

This is EGYPT and Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, the central symbol of the Egyptian civilisation is THE PYRAMID OF THE PHAROAHS . . . NOT ARABIA and Mecca or Medina, the central symbol of the Arabian civilisation is THE CUBE OF KABAA.

Egypt is not Arabia.

Adopt EGYPTIAN NAMES not keep using those ARABIAN NAMES (the wealthier can trace their DNA down to the nobility or even Kings if they try hard enough). Pray and worship at EGYPTIAN Temples. Respect a revived Egyptian Priesthood not a Foreign Priesthood that answers to a foreign Arab King. Wear Egyptian garb. In Egypt, if the Egyptian people have the will, an Egyptian King is even possible (Constitutional Monarch), or an Egyptian Pharoah rather.

Learn Hieratic instead of Arabic and remember that EGYPTIAN culture and polytheistic EGYPTIAN religion (well if the people are as lazy as Akenathan, worship Amon-Ra instead for a while NOT the Kabaa – even as the Aabakian Octohedron Cult arises on the Mecc(h)an Antipode) are well loved the world over, as opposed to Islamism’s monotheistic malaise and penchant for association with oil and terror, rampant disrespectful proselytization and sometimes forced conversions.

At least some Egyptians seem to remember who they are . . . the Egyptian Pantheon’s first High Priest perhaps? Imhotep! Imhotep! Imhotep II rather . . .

KUALA LUMPUR – The DAP today urged the Malaysian government to lodge diplomatic protests over Israel’s cruel actions on the people of Gaza, Palestine.

Its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Wisma Putra (the Foreign Ministry) should make vehement protests on Israel’s actions to the United States and the United Nations so that the violence perpetrated against the people of Gaza was stopped forthwith.

“DAP condemns Israel’s using its military might disproportionately to the rocket attacks from Palestinian fighters. Israel’s aggression on Gaza always brings unnecessary deaths and damage to property,” he said in a statement here today.

At least 30 people have been killed and scores others injured, including women and children, in Israel’s latest airstrikes on the Gaza Strip which began on Wednesday.

Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza and the brutal killings of innocent Palestinians. The incessant shelling of whatever that is left of the Palestinian homeland is a gross violation of international law and constitutes acts of cold blooded murder.

We categorically condemn these blatant acts of aggression and call on the international community to do whatever that is necessary to put an end to the violence. The continued bombardment and the calling up of 75,000 reservists constitute a grave threat to peace and stability in the region.

We would reiterate the warning by both Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi that serious consequences would ensue if Israel follows up with its threat of a ground offensive.

Take clear moral stand

President Barack Obama must act immediately and decisively to put to an end to the increasing tension in the region by making it clear to Israel that their continued acts of aggression and the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza will have severe implications not just for the region but for international peace and stability.

All peace loving nations must take a clear moral stand on this issue and pressure Israel to cease its brutal, inhumane and oppressive actions against the people of Gaza, already marginalized for years and since 2006, unfairly penalised by the Western powers for having elected Hamas to power.

DAP is the worst political party EVER. We still have APARTHEID of BUMIPUTRA here in Malaysia and DAP wants to target Israel AN ENTIRE country embroiled in decades of war instead? GTFO of Dewan DAP! End apartheid and unequal citizenships first then talk about Israel. If DAP can’t even walk as equals among Malaysians, DAP has no business talking about Israel. DAP is run by nepotistic term limitless idiots.

Also selected comments from another media site confirm DAP’s irrelevance to Malaysian politics and lack of interest in Human Rights locally (DAP accepts 2nd class citizenships but wants to fight the 10th Crusade on the side of Muslims? Obama didn’t get through to Anwar now did he? PKR has not spoken against apartheid or ensured Article 18 of the Human Rights Charter but wants to berate Obama on Palestine? Send in the marines!

Sunday, 18 November 2012 12:28 posted by Malaysian

DAP is barking up the wrong tree. It is now supporting aggressors. Hamas knew that the rocket attacks on Israel would get a strong response if they kept it up long enough. Were they thinking of the wellbeing of the Palestinians in this case? I think not. Like many in the world community, DAP has now been drawn into condemning Israel’s right to defend itself while conveniently forgetting that it was Hamas who started the violence. Can we have some common sense here, or is it too much to ask of DAP on this issue?

Sunday, 18 November 2012 14:38 posted by CorruptWorld

The corrupt and dictatorial leaderships in the middle east nations are fearful of the momentum of “the Arab Spring”. Rhetorica against Iran’s nuclear program, Iran supports Asad of Syria n militants in Iraq, Hezbollah meddling in Labenon, all year long Hamas firing rockets into Isreal, Isreal heavy response….these are planned political, big arms deals and corruption from bottom to top maneuvers by the leaders in West and East to divert or kill off the middle east peoples’ uprising and yearn for freedom and change of governments. Both, Isreal and Hamas are to blame for escalating tensions and hardship on their own people’s. When peace is near and real, they both acting up again. The ruling Government of Isreal is not true Jews as with Hamas is not true Muslims.

Sunday, 18 November 2012 22:31 posted by dominic

This is the second call from PR leaders . I have yet to see any call for Hamas to immediately cease their un-provocative shelling of Israel . Any disagreement is best settled on the round table instead of lobbing mortars and missles to gander international support and attention . Any peace at all need both side to abide collectively. No one party can go in alone !

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Drop the Israel-Palestine B.S.. . . ARE YOU A MINORITY living in Malaysia @dominic? If there is no equal standing locally for 40% of the population, stop talking about a country half a world away and handle the local issues first, Malaysia is half a Trillion in debt and has apartheid issues, this Israel-Palestine conflict is the work of SUPERPOWERS, and China and India are modest enough to keep their distance to let Russia and USA handle this, not even England or the EU want to get involved and here we have BN or Pakatan making alot of noise on the side . . . can’t even have equality, country in serious debt, can’t end Apartheid, and want to target the Middle East issues? Malaysian citizens as unfocused as Malaysian politicians, backyard issues first!

ARTICLE 2

The Ipoh boy who spoke no English… and rose to be Chief Justice – Sunday, 18 November 2012 08:29

This is an excerpt of a tribute delivered by Law Minister K. Shanmugam in Parliament on Monday to Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, who retired on Nov 6.

SINGAPORE’S constitutional framework enshrines the rule of law, the independence of the courts and the separation of powers.

The Constitution establishes the Judiciary as a separate and independent institution, and charges it with the responsibility to interpret the law and apply it to cases which come before the courts.

At the head of the Judiciary is the Chief Justice. Through his judgments and extra-judicial writings, his presidency over appellate hearings and even his personal conduct, the Chief Justice sets the tone for the administration of justice in Singapore.

It is a heavy responsibility, and Singapore has been singularly fortunate that, for the past six years, that responsibility has been discharged by Chief Justice Chan.

Humble background

THE Chief Justice came from a humble background. He lived in a communal house in Ipoh, started his education late because of the war, and could not speak English when he first went to school.

But adversity did not slow him down. He was one of the top students in the Senior Cambridge School Certificate in 1955, with eight distinctions.

He could not decide what to read at university. He was not thinking of doing law – he had no idea what a legal career would be like. Happily for Singapore, he was persuaded to do law by his English literature teacher, Dr Etherton, who said that he had a “very crafty mind” – in a good sense.

Chief Justice Chan joined the inaugural LL.B. class of 1961 in the then University of Malaya, and was one of the top students in a class that produced several other students who went on to hold high positions in the law.

Private practice

CHIEF Justice Chan practised briefly in Kuala Lumpur before joining Braddell Brothers in Singapore in 1963. He did so because he wanted to continue to be with then his girlfriend, Elisabeth Eber, whom he later married.

Later, the Chief Justice joined Shook Lin & Bok, where he rose to become the managing partner and one of Singapore’s leading banking and corporate lawyers, with a complete mastery of the law and a keen understanding of commercial and practical realities.

He was the counsel of choice for many banks and financial institutions, and drafted many of the standard banking and corporate documents used throughout Singapore in the late 1970s and in the 1980s.

The Chief Justice never hid behind verbiage. I once had to advise on a guarantee which was drafted by the Chief Justice. It comprised two paragraphs, in a telex. The party which challenged the validity of the guarantee – perhaps because it looked too short to be a guarantee! – later backed down. Though brief, the document was clear and accurate. That was the hallmark of the Chief Justice: in the way he gave his advice, in the way he drafted documents and in the way he wrote his judgments.

Judicial commissioner and judge

CHIEF Justice Chan was appointed a Judicial Commissioner in 1986 – the first person to be so appointed. He was later elevated to be a Judge in 1988.

During his first judicial tenure, from 1986 to 1992, the Chief Justice demonstrated the independence of mind and the keenness of analysis that lawyers today are familiar with. In this period, he heard a fair number of public law cases, and, in his own words, “the decisions are fairly divided between those decided for and against the Government”.

It was during this period that I started my own career in the law. In 1987, I appeared as a junior, with Mr Joseph Grimberg, in a case before the Chief Justice. The precedents were not clear. While Mr Grimberg was making his arguments, the Chief Justice somehow noticed – I don’t know how, perhaps it showed in my face – that I was keen for a point to be made. He asked Mr Grimberg to ask me what the point was. I was quite struck that the Chief Justice noticed everything in his court – he was so alert that he even picked up on the thought processes of a junior, and pursued the point.

His handling of the case, both in the way he conducted the hearing, as well as his legal analysis, left a deep impression on me.

He had an excellent judicial temperament – no flourish, no hyperbole, no drama. He always cut to the chase, succinct. He was usually well ahead of counsel and on top of all the issues – a first-rate, world-class judicial mind.

Attorney-General

IN 1992, Chief Justice Chan was appointed the third Attorney-General of Singapore.

As Public Prosecutor, he had the constitutional responsibility for instituting and conducting prosecutions. He acted firmly and in the public interest. At the same time, he was fair to the accused.

He enhanced the capabilities of the Attorney-General’s Chambers by strengthening the Civil and Criminal Divisions, and setting up the International Affairs Division and the Law Reform and Law Revision Division. His successors have built on this strong foundation, and today the AGC has a full- fledged team of first-rate lawyers, numbering about 250.

As Attorney-General, and later as Chief Justice, Chief Justice Chan played a leading role in the Pedra Branca litigation.

He presented our case before the International Court of Justice in a very clear manner, together with Professor S. Jayakumar, Professor Tommy Koh and others. The ICJ decisively upheld Singapore’s sovereignty over Pedra Branca. Chief Justice’s personal interests – he is a keen student of history – helped substantially in presenting Singapore’s case. His collection of South-east Asian history books, one of the largest in Singapore, was extensively used for the ICJ hearing.

Chief Justice

Mr Chan was appointed as Chief Justice in 2006. The appointment was received with great enthusiasm by the legal community.

Chan Sek Keong the Chief Justice was very much like Chan Sek Keong the man – humble, unassuming, with a powerful intellect and a keen sense of integrity.

Outside of the courtroom, Chief Justice Chan demanded that lawyers meet the highest standards of professional conduct, and took decisive measures to safeguard clients’ monies from errant lawyers. He constantly encouraged the legal fraternity, from Senior Counsel to law student, to do more pro bono work, to improve access to justice for the less fortunate amongst us.

He started the Young Amicus Curiae scheme where young lawyers could assist Judges hearing Magistrate’s Appeals, and expose themselves to criminal work.

He stressed the need for top- tier advocacy in commercial cases. He observed that top Senior Counsel were often retained by large institutions, rendering them unable or unavailable to act against such institutions. The result was that small law firms and individual clients who wanted representation against large institutions could not instruct Senior Counsel. He thus advocated that Queen’s Counsel be allowed to appear more freely in our courts, so that small law firms and individual clients can instruct them.

As a judge, Chief Justice believed that “judgments should be expressed in a language that a reasonably educated layman can understand”, and indeed his judgments stand out for their clarity and simple elegance.

He believed in procedural fairness, that “litigants must come away from the court with the feeling that even though they lost, they have had their day in court and have been heard”.

He believed that the function of judges was to interpret and to apply the law, and not to legislate or make policy in the guise of adjudication. In that sense, he was a legal positivist.

At the same time, he believed that judges had a role in developing the law interstitially, consonant with national values and fundamental principles of the common law.

To promote the practice development of Singapore law, he issued a Practice Direction that Singapore cases should be cited in preference to foreign cases. In the course of his judicial career, he wrote almost 380 judgments, or more than 30 a year. His judgments, which span many areas of the law, will continue to influence our jurisprudence for many years to come.

He believed in justice for the common man. Above all, the Chief Justice was a firm believer in the rule of law and the duty of the court to uphold the law. In a lecture in 2010, he offered a robust rebuke to those who doubted the independence of the Judiciary.

When the boy from Ipoh came to Singapore to study, settle down and start a career in the law, it was Singapore which ultimately benefited.

Any legal professional that has sat by and watched the lack of the above, is a ‘boy’ . . . Ipoh or wherever from . . . not a MAN who challenges the APARTHEID OF BUMIPUTRA for the mere right to equality. Any Malaysian who RAN AWAY from Malaysia to Singapore, and not spoken a word against apartheid despite reaching such high status is a very cynical person, especially when no-longer holding posts or active in government.

‘While still at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), he was frequently asked about the Internal Security Act (ISA) — a law that enables the government to detain people without trial. The issue also recently grabbed headlines when the Catholic Archbishop of Singapore retracted a letter of support he sent to activist group Function 8, when it organised an event earlier this year calling for its abolition. Asked for his views on more controversial detentions in Singapore’s history, including Operation Coldstore in 1963 and Operation Spectrum in 1987, he felt it inappropriate to offer comment on specific incidents in the past because he was not privy to the specific security considerations applicable to them. With clearer knowledge of the situation between 2008 and 2011, however, Shanmugam is certain of the overarching rationale for the Act in the current international security environment — that ultimately it acts as a preventive measure where security threats are discovered on classified intelligence.

With the days of mass, high-profile detentions a thing of the past, though, whether the law should stay or not, he feels, all boils down to the evaluation of which of two risks Singapore is more prepared to take. “(The ISA) gives the power to the government to detain people without going through the due process of the courts. Once you have such a structure, is there a possibility of abuse? Of course… so that’s the risk,” he acknowledged. However, he pointed out, “Society has got to decide between that risk, or the risk that an incident might actually occur, and then you have to ask yourself, ‘What are the consequences of each of the two risks materialising? What is the impact on Singapore?’ and then people have to choose.” Shanmugam explained that where Singapore lacks in natural resources, it makes up for in a clean ecosystem that is friendly to businesses.’

Propagandist Indian raised into high stature, now here supporting draconian laws, and know that Shanmugam is present only for token multiracialism. Singapore is not friendly to business, but only acts as a money laundering front and military base of sorts centered around a CIVILIAN JUNTA around the nepotistic Lee family . . .

How can he compare to our wealthy, hollywood handsome pedigree and powerful Minister Nazari. Even Nazari son can afford to wear a million dollar watch. Can this S’porean(ex M’sian) CJ do likewise.

Aiyah, our Minister Nazari is 1st class conman – con his own people and also con everybody that there is nothing wrong in $40 million fiasco involving Michael Chia & Musa. By the way, sorry lah people like Justice Chan is not wanted by Malaysia. Smart people in Malaysia is a liability. They complain too much about UMNO’s brand of government. Too many smart people, where to cari makan.

Sunday, 18 November 2012 20:52 posted by Oran Utan

You guys still don’t get it do you? For UMNO this is all about Ketuanan Melayu, it is never about Meritocracy. And some you you hit a nail in the coffin, with his type of resume he will never get a job in Bolehland.

Talent corp is wasting taxpayers money and time, how do you expect to attract Malaysian Talents back and retain them when you cannot guarantee a future for these talents. Meritocracy, performance and opportunity for promotions and business opportunities are one of the main key criteria to stay back in Ketuanan Melayu land. So UMNO don’t take us for a ride with your Talent Corp bullshit. All I can see is that Talent Corp is another gimmick to siphon Taxpayers money.

Sunday, 18 November 2012 10:58 posted by Ibrahim

He acted firmly and in the public interest. ..

An excellent tribute. In Malaysia, if we can get 10% of the qualities mentioned in this tribute, we would be honored. Esp. When that Mamak who is really a Syaitan, tore the independence, professionalism & integrity of the Malaysian Judiciary to pieces.

Now we have only a Judiciary and AG Chambers completely compromised and without any more conscience esp. when Dealing with dissent and opposition to UMNO.

Following a public uproar to the widespread crackdown on two pro-democracy rallies held by electoral reform movement Bersih 2.0, Najib has taken great pains to improve civil liberties in Malaysia. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak signed ASEAN’s first human rights declaration (AHRD) in Cambodia today, officially committing Malaysia to its first foreign convention to promote fair treatment of every individual irrespective of race, religion and political opinion.

Today’s signing, which took place during the 21st ASEAN Summit at the Peace Palace in the capital city of Phnom Penh, comes at an opportune time for Malaysia and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government led by Najib, which has come under close international scrutiny for its alleged mishandling of several recent human rights issues.

“ASEAN shall pursue the protection and promotion of human rights in the region in our own way and also try to maintain the highest standard as expressed in various declarations and instruments of the international community,” ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan was quoted as saying in The Star Online.

According to media reports, the AHRD has a total of 40 clauses and covers areas like civil and political rights, economic, social ad cultural rights, developmental processes and peace enhancement.

The declaration also states that the rights of women, children, elderly and disabled persons and migrant workers are integral and indivisible part of human rights and fundamental freedom, The Star reported.

Najib has found himself in the international spotlight on numerous occasions, taking the hit for his administration’s alleged heavy-handedness in dealing with matters concerning civil freedom, individual rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Some key examples include the widespread crackdown on two pro-democracy rallies held by electoral reform movement Bersih 2.0 — one on July 9, 2011, and another on April 28 this year — which resulted in scene of chaos and violence on the streets of this usually peaceful capital city.

To dull the uproar, however, Najib has taken great pains to improve civil liberties in Malaysia, even agreeing to repeal the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Sedition Act, enacting a new law to regulate public gatherings, agreeing to allow student participation in politics and relaxing provisions in laws governing press freedom.

But after the last protest on April 28, foreign media reports predicted that the government’s handling of the event would likely undermine Najib’s image as a reformist and force the prime minister to delay the next general election.

Several newswires, picked up by major newspapers globally, also took the same stance, with Reuters reporting that police action raised “the risk of a political backlash that could delay national polls which had been expected as early as June.”

Agence France-Presse also said that “the rally poses a dilemma for Najib, who since last year’s crackdown has sought to portray himself as a reformer, launching a campaign to repeal authoritarian laws in a bid to create what he called ‘the greatest democracy’.”

Several reports pointed to the first Bersih rally held just months before the March 2008 elections, which saw BN record its worst electoral performance ever, ceding its customary two-thirds supermajority in Parliament and five state governments.

Najib took over from Tun Abdullah Badawi a year later, ostensibly to improve on the results and some observers say only a return to two-thirds majority will guarantee he remains Umno president.

Widespread condemnation from the international press of Putrajaya’s crack down on last July’s Bersih rally saw Najib announce a raft of reforms including a parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms and the Peaceful Assembly Act, a major concession to win back an alienated middle-class.

But the findings of a bipartisan panel have been criticised as cosmetic by civil society and the opposition and yesterday’s planned sit-in was the first major test of the new law regulating demonstrations the BN chief says abides by “international norms”.

The foreign press had at the time also widely carried global civil liberties watchdog Human Rights Watch’s criticism of the government, saying it showed “contempt for its people’s basic rights and freedoms.”

“Despite all the talk of ‘reform’ over the past year, we’re seeing a repeat of repressive actions by a government that does not hesitate to use force when it feels its prerogatives are challenged,” said Phil Robertson, its deputy Asia director.

Apart from Bersih, the BN administration has also earned itself international condemnation for bringing charges of sexual misconduct and sodomy against Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim numerous occasions, a move that the leader’s supporters have claimed was merely to stifle his campaign to topple the ruling pact.

Several cases of deaths in custody over the past few years had also cast the government in the spotlight for alleged human rights abuses. One example is the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock, whose death, which occurred while he was under the care of anti-graft officials, has continued to haunt the government since 2009.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

But the Bar Council gets no flak eh? The Bar Council needs to hammer BN too, even sue BN for APARTHEID and lack of :

Najib alone cannot be blamed but is definitely complicit. If all other agencies did their work, Najib would be out of work. UN needs to address the bunch of racists affecting Najib’s judgment. Signing this does not change the above 3 lacks. Bar Council being so supposedly educated and ‘legal’ can see this. Act yet? Or still waiting for moi to sue the Malaysian Government?

(TMI) — Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang appeared today to admit that PAS may never entirely abandon its plans to impose hudud for Muslims and had only softened its approach on the matter as the Islamist party knew it could not rule without its non-Muslim allies in Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

But the PAS president offered his word that if implemented, the controversial Islamic penal code would not be imposed on the non-Muslims, shooting down a suggestion yesterday by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“And the rights of non-Muslims are allowed by their own religion … for example, liquor is allowed by their religion … although it is haram in Islam, it is still their right.”

Dr Mahathir had stepped into the hudud fray yesterday, challenging the party to implement hudud for all, including the non-Muslims, in order to be fair.

During the stretch of the party’s annual meet this weekend, the PAS leadership seemed to deliberately dodge the issue of hudud and the party’s Islamic state ideals, moving instead to appear more inclusive with slogans that advocate religious tolerance and acceptance.

But the party’s religious conservatives in the ulama wing and youth members insisted on raising the controversial issue, which has put a strain on PAS’ ties with PR ally DAP.

In his policy speech at the opening of the muktamar, Abdul Hadi focussed on PAS’ plans to improve Malaysia’s economy should PR come to power and skirted around hudud and the implementation of the Islamic state.

But the veteran politician could not avoid the matter today, after PAS continued to find itself the target of critics who complained of the party’s apparent failure to stick to its ideals.

He would not expressly state if PAS would push ahead with its hudud agenda but appeared to suggest that the matter had to be shelved for the sake of its non-Muslim partners in PR.

“We want to rule a country, if it’s just PAS, then it will be impossible (for us) to rule,” he told reporters.

The Marang MP’s remarks today will likely draw more criticism from PAS’ political foes who have often accused the party of straying from its Islamic ideals and bowing down to its allies for the sake of wresting federal power.

PAS also reiterated today that there is no friction between the party and DAP, with which they have gone into collision course on issues such as Islamic state and hudud.

“Don’t equate them disagreeing over hudud, with them rejecting (Islam). It is not the same.”

Abdul Hadi’s statements came after PAS’s religious wing continued to reaffirm its stand on hudud, insisting that it should be implemented if the party wins a significant majority in the next election.

“So far, hudud is still relevant,” said Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamad, the Deputy Chief of PAS Ulama wing during the closing speech at the muktamar.

“We will implement hudud in a democratic system if we win a lot of seats. It is not impossible that hudud can be implemented in Malaysia.”

Mahfodz reminded the PAS leadership that they should not forget Islam and hudud while they fight through the next campaign stage to reach Putrajaya.

“A ‘benevolent state’ must be based on the Quran, sunnah and ijtihad … not the -isms which contradict Islam,” he added.

This remark followed the information chief for the women’s wing, Aiman Athirah’s call for delegates to work harder so that PAS can lead Pakatan Rakyat (PR), and for President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to be elected as the prime minister if the party wins in the next election.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dials? Whats that an NLP ‘trigger word’, code? Anyway, good to hear that Hudud might not be summarily imposed on Malaysians BUT . . .

Hadi may want to consider if Muslims will be allowed Article 18 of the UN Human Rights Charter rights to Apostasy, and the Non-Muslims will be allowed EQUALITY in all aspects of Law and Constitution, and also for non-Muslims to have RLD and Gambling districts in suitable places in state capitals of appropriate size AS WELL as OPZs (Organic Psychedelic Zones) like Amsterdam has. There are SERIOUS gaps in Hadi’s address and acceptance of PMship, which while tolerable if the above issues are made clear, cannot precede PAS taking up the mantle of the ruling party much less neglect Orang Asli stolen land issues as well as forced conversions of non-Muslims, continuation of Bumiputra Aparthied (perhaps INCLUDE all non-Malays and non-Muslims of a certain wealth level who are willing to apply BUT under no sneak conversion tactics or attempts at proselytization) etc..

Conversely Bumiputra Apartheid could be ended entirely, millions worth Bumi should not get any discounts or special privileges at all, while the poor non-Muslim and non-Malays in fact should. This is a money issue and to ignore politics of non-Muslim rights and equality, this becomes a display of PAS’s inward lookingness and sheer neglect of common sense and civilisation that a PM of any country needs. No problem if Hadi is made PM, but not without address of the above which are innate rights of ALL MANKIND and neglected for oppressive purposes for decades in Malaysia. Malaysia is a single country within the nations of a world, and not a very large or powerful country, needs to address issues as above.

To show he meant business, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan yesterday laid bare his personal assets during the winding down speech at the wing’s muktamar.

Nasrudin, 42, declared that he and his wife, a teacher, both draw an income of RM2,800 and RM4,000 respectively.

He also declared that he had RM9,000 in his bank account.

Out of his monthly RM2,800 income, RM2,500 is allowance from the party for his duties as PAS Youth chief while RM300 is rental income.

The father of six also tabled the breakdown of his monthly expenses comprising of a home loan at RM530 and his vehicle for which he pays RM1,400 monthly.

“Meanwhile my wife is paying loan for her own house at RM1,230 a month. These are the assets I am declaring, that I owned, as a gimmick for the assets declaration proposal, insha Allah that will be followed by all PAS Youth exco members,” he said.

PAS Youth had earlier announced that its executive council members including those not contesting in the coming general election would have to declare their assets.

During the opening of PAS Youth’s general meeting, party deputy president Mohamad Sabu gave his commitment to turn the proposal into a reality, but reminded that assets declaration must also be made at the end of one’s office term.

-Harakahdaily

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Don’t do the Rakyat no favours. Declaring assets is NOTHING AT ALL. Try ending apartheid or extreme religion and even distributing land or housing to the poor OF ALL RACES. Assets only? Big deal? At end of term? WORSE deal. Hiding ‘abit’ is hiding all the same. Why not declare NOW instead of months away so that ‘assets’ can be hidden by then? Who cares if assets are declared AFTER the term? BEFORE the term starts would be meaningful for asset declarations, but ONLY AFTER terms end? Cynical and obviously stalling for time.

ARTICLE 6

Possibly inaccurate but will post to see if any response that can clarify . . .

Theory? Or Truth?

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

My theory based guess is that drugs are in fact USED by politicians to astrally project so that they can peek in on others and gain advantage against them, if not illegal cams have been installed everywhere already. Look at the colours the podium speaker is wearing here, Rasta colours. Who knows those with minds too strong will be targeted by GOVERNMENT, or political drug users, which possibly are typical of ALL so-called or organized religions. The hierarchy of religions could well be based around drug taking and hence the desire to illegalise drugs so that the will of the world becomes that of their narrow limited and religious biased one. Perhaps these are not religious men, perhaps these are ADDICTS intent on religious and political control using drugs as a weapon of choice. Please feel free to discuss if the premise is off, or warn to remove if considered offensive – suggestions of a more suitable repost will be appreciated if needed.

A GROUP of transvestites in revealing outfits was detained by religious authorities for trying to offer sexual services.

Sinar Harian reported that they were spotted waiting for customers in Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur.

The six transvestites ran helter-skelter when they saw an enforcement team from the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and officers from the Al-Azim mosque making their rounds at 5am on Thursday.

It was learnt the transvestites charged as low as RM50.

Al-Azim mosque officer Ahmad Nawi Osman said some of the transvestites suffered light injuries when they fell while running up a flight of stairs.

“All of them, aged between 20 and 38, were arrested,” he said, adding that one transvestite disclosed that it was difficult to find work and gain acceptance in society, causing him to resort to such a job.

> Kosmo! reported that the body of a missing two-year-old boy had been found. The body was believed to have been partly eaten by a monitor lizard.

Hadziq Hassan, missing since last Saturday, was found in Segaliud, Sandakan, on Wednesday night.

A surveyor, who was working in the area, made the discovery.

The boy was reported missing at Batu 25, Kampung Garinono after he and his family attended a relative’s wedding in Kampung Manis.

His body was found about 3km from the relative’s house.

Sandakan OCPD Asst Comm Rowell Marong said the body was identified by his family and was sent to the Duchess of Kent Hospital for an autopsy.

> A total of 26 foreign women, including four underaged girls, were detained by the Negri Sembilan Immigration Department for allegedly working as guest relations officers, reported Harian Metro.

The four Vietnamese girls, aged between 14 and 16, were believed to have been tricked into taking up the job at an entertainment centre in Seremban.

State immigration director Faizal Fazri Othman said three of the four girls entered the country using a visitor’s pass while the other girl used a student pass.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this > sign, it denotes a separate news item.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Adult services are a human right of non-Muslims and if these transpersons were not Muslim, they should be left alone at least while legal action to ensure proper zones are assigned for such activities for non-Muslims. Luck? These are human rights abuses.

However, he acknowledged that Nik Aziz had been advised by his doctor to go for a check-up every day to treat a “prostate problem”.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A potential core elite of statesmen, at least in ensuring of separation of powers. Karpal unfortunately represents endemic nepotism and limitless terms as well. Hence Sallehuddin and Datuk Mahfuz Omar have become that much more statesmanlike (do these exceptions stand AGAINST Hudud?) If so, we might be looking at future PMs . . . ) than Karpal, even if the above suggestion which came from moi, was taken up by Karpal. TERM LIMITS and NO FAMILY BLOCS ‘KARPAL’. Any ‘Karipap’ (or Al-Karipap? Karpal . . . ) seller could run for election and win, simply by democratic considerations against nepotism and limitless terms of Karpal and sons. This is GOVERNMENT not a family business.

The Malaysian police know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in the UK know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., know I live in Manchester. The Malaysian High Commission in London and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur know I live in Manchester. Only Victor Lim alone thinks I live in Dr Mahathir’s apartment in London. He knows that but he does not know what the address is or whether Dr Mahathir really does own an apartment in London.

The most valuable part of a democratic and pluralistic society is the right to choose. Everyone can choose to support anything they think is right.

The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) rally scheduled on November 25 with the objective to pressure the government is a choice of struggle. The United Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zong) and the Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Hua Zong) have the right not to participate and choose to correct the unreasonable content in the National Education Blueprint preliminary report through communication and follow-up.

Similar to anti-environment movements, some people chose to take part in the 300km Kuantan-KL Green Walk. Their persistence and perseverance has won respect and admiration.

In politics, people also have the right to choose whether to change the government, strengthen the two-party-system or maintain the status quo.

Changing the government is an ideal and it can hardly become a reality if only a small number of people are supporting it. Therefore, the ruling and alternative coalitions must convey their political programmes and policies to the public through various platforms, including mass assemblies and annual general assemblies to fight for more support.

To me, the Pakatan Rakyat’s performance has not yet reached my personal demand. However, as I believe that democracy requires checks and balances, I support the two-party system. If the majority supports the two-party system, it is possible to bring a major change.

In a democratic country, everyone has the right to choose based on his/her own judgement and cognitive thinking. Therefore, it is not necessary for others to be so nervous or intimidate them into changing their stand.

Many people are confused about the meaning of democracy due to the intense political struggle. Some people are excessively fanatical to the extent of slandering and labelling those who have made a different choice.

French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Who can still remember the words? Many people have instead lost their magnanimity and tolerance and attack whoever say something unpleasant. Democracy should never be like this.

All people make mistakes, regardless of how just they claimed themselves are. Calling themselves just does not mean that they cannot be criticised and corrected.

The BN has indeed made many mistakes and there is much room for improvement. Similarly, the Pakatan Rakyat state governments also have many inadequacies in governance. Being overly emotional has caused everyone unable to see the reality clearly.

Back to the Dong Zong rally, it is a peaceful civil demonstration and it is not necessary to label it as an “anti-government” movement. Adopting the path of dialogue to fight is not “heinous crime” either. Why can’t the Chinese organisations work together to achieve the same goal since all of them are serving the Chinese community? Without tolerance and the sense of balance, it could end up following the path of politics, namely people categorise those who are not called friends as enemies.

Most Chinese affairs are of voluntary or conscience nature. If it evolves into a life-and-death game, the Chinese community will first collapse before the winner of the political game is decided.

Life was boring and monotonic in the past when people were not granted the right to choose. It is good to have choice. But choices also bring us confusion and distress.

As the general election is approaching, people become more and more impetuous. We must first calm down to avoid being diverted by “choices”.

********************************************

The day Najib outfoxed all Malaysians…

Victor Lim, Free Malaysia Today

Now, wasn’t it Daim who predicted that five states would fall prior to the 2008 political tsunami? And it was correct – Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan.

And who and where this prediction was first publicised? Raja Petra Kamarudin’s (RPK’s) Malaysia-Today (MT) news portal.

Malaysians who have been following RPK’s writings were shocked, when after the 2008 general election, he began associating himself with Mahathir – meeting his sifu (master) in his Petronas twin-tower office.

Many could not understand or believe how RPK, who was so vocal against BN-Umno and one of the pioneers of the Free Anwar Reformasi Movement, could make such an about turn.

Many MT readers are still puzzled and cannot believe what was happening and why RPK’s writings started to slant towards Umno.

However, RPK’s slant is now cautiously back to the Opposition, championing the need to change? What’s going on? Simple! The cyber mercenary writer is financially backed by Mahathir and Daim.

In 2008, Mahathir and Daim’s common political pest was Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. So, RPK’s mission was to destabilise and erode support for Umno and Abdullah. It worked wonderfully, and as they say, the rest is history.

Now, Mahathir and Daim’s common political enemy is Najib. And do you now see the similar strategic political attacks from Mahathir and RPK?

If you still don’t believe that Mahathir and Daim are RPK’s sponsors, then you give me the answers to the following questions:

* RPK was the one who came up with the damning statutory declaration that implicated Najib and his wife, Rosmah, in the murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and the link to the Scorpene submarines’ graft allegations. Why?

* RPK was picked up by police and then charged. But after he was released on bail, how the hell did such a high profile political figure leave the country undetected?

* Who had the power and influence to facilitate his (RPK’s) migration? This was what I posted about RPK on Sept 10, 2012.

Talk is spreading like wild fire in Malaysia that the famous or infamous cyber operator, depending on which side of the political divide you stand, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or more popularly referred to as RPK, is residing in an apartment in London belonging to the racist former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed.

RPK can feel free to clarify or attack me as we believe in freedom of speech and democracy, don’t we?

********************************************

When the issue favours the Chinese cause, they will scream democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of choice, the right to choose, agree to disagree, and so on. However, if it does not favour the Chinese cause, they will scream you are a turncoat, traitor, Trojan horse, frog, mole, you have been bought, and much more.

That is the ugly side of the Chinese. Freedom means freedom to agree with me, not freedom to disagree with me.

To people like Victor Lim, if you say or write anything that is perceived as pro-government, then this means you have been paid to do so. What about those who say or write something perceived as pro-opposition? Does this not also mean you have been paid to do so?

No! It does not. That just means you are noble. Those who support the opposition are noble. And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing — you support the government. It is like religion. Either you are a Muslim or you are a Christian. And if you are not a Christian then you must surely be a Muslim. That is the only logical explanation.

To Victor Lim, your very action of not supporting the opposition is ‘evidence’ you have been paid. Using that same yardstick as ‘proof of guilt’, we will have to assume that Victor Lim is also a paid writer and his master must surely be Tian Chua. Can we, therefore, accept whatever Victor Lim says as the truth? Paid writers like Victor Lim would definitely lie through their teeth.

Victor Lim says he believes in democracy and freedom of speech. But when I exercise my democratic right of freedom of speech he vilifies me. The Malays call this bikin tak serupa cakap. Is this a Chinese cultural thing or what? Is this the best the so-called 5,000 years of Chinese ‘civilisation’ can produce? You appear puzzled as to why very few Malays trust the Chinese. Well, that’s because the Malays know that bikin tak serupa cakap type of people just cannot be trusted.

Probably 50 or more Malaysians have come to my house in Manchester, many of them Malaysians from Malaysia. Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, Zaid Ibrahim, Mat Sabu, Saari Sungib, and many more have all been to my house — some even spent the night at my house.

There are many more Malaysians from London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Reading, Scotland — in fact, from almost every city in the UK — who have visited me in Manchester. Yet Victor Lim says: Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or more popularly referred to as RPK, is residing in an apartment in London belonging to the racist former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed.

And he can’t even get the spelling of my name right. It is Raja Petra Kamarudin and not Raja Petra Kamaruddin. And what Free Anwar Reformasi Movement is Victor Lim talking about? Clearly Victor Lim tembak only. There is so such movement called Free Anwar Reformasi Movement. This is a fabrication by Victor Lim.

Anyway, what is the address of Dr Mahathir’s apartment? Does Dr Mahathir even own an apartment in London in the first place? And when did I move in to that apartment?

So you see, Victor Lim is bullshitting because I have never lived in London (at least not since 1956), never mind in whose apartment in London. I have been living in Manchester since the day I arrived. In fact, my family has been living in Manchester for 11 years now, since 2001, eight years before I came over.

The Malaysian police know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in the UK know I live in Manchester. Malaysians in Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., know I live in Manchester. The Malaysian High Commission in London and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur know I live in Manchester. Only Victor Lim alone thinks I live in Dr Mahathir’s apartment in London. He knows that but he does not know what the address is or whether Dr Mahathir really does own an apartment in London.

Can you see how they lie? And to these types of people lying comes under the category of freedom of speech. But if you were to reply to that lie, that is not considered freedom of speech. Freedom of speech means they can say things about you but you can’t say things about them.

Budaya apa ni? Budaya 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation ke?

Victor Lim also said: Malaysians who have been following RPK’s writings were shocked, when after the 2008 general election, he began associating himself with Mahathir – meeting his sifu (master) in his Petronas twin-tower office.

In fact, in the 2006 PKR annual general assembly in Penang, Azmin Ali whacked me in his speech. And Anwar Ibrahim sat there on stage smirking like the cat that had swallowed the canary as Azmin Ali whacked me for ‘bersekongkong dengan Dr Mahathir Mohamed’.

Hence, if you want to accuse me of ‘collaborating’ with Dr Mahathir then this collaboration started more than six years ago and two years before the 2008 general election. And if I had collaborated with Dr Mahathir more than six years ago and two years before the 2008 general election, how can I be a turncoat? A turncoat is someone who changes sides. I never changed sides after the 2008 general election. I have been with Dr Mahathir since two years BEFORE the 2008 general election.

And do you know what? Many PAS and DAP leaders — and many of them top leaders at that, too — also attended that 24th June 2006 dialogue with Dr Mahathir. Even the ex-PKR Deputy President turned up. So what have you got to say about all those PAS, DAP and PKR leaders who attended that dialogue with Dr Mahathir organised by Malaysia Today at the Kelab Century Paradise on 24th June 2006?

In the Kota Bharu dialogue the following month, the Kelantan Menteri Besar, Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, attended the session and shared the stage with Dr Mahathir. He also attended the dinner in honour of Dr Mahathir that same night. Nik Aziz felt he needed to play host to the ex-Prime Minister since he (Nik Aziz) is, after, all the Menteri Besar of Kelantan.

Maybe the Pakatan Rakyat supporters should learn how to tell the truth for once. You accuse Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, NST, The Star, TV3, RTM, etc. of lying. But what difference are the opposition supporters? You are as blatant in your lying as the people you accuse of lying.

And why do you not respond, point-by-point, to the issues I have raised? I have been raising many issues since the mid-1990s — ever since I first started writing for Harakah in 1997 and I first launched my own website in 1994. What I am saying now is what I have been saying for the last 18 years. What am I saying now that I did not say back in the 1990s?

If I am wrong then rebut me with what you think is the truth. But you don’t do that. Instead of replying, you just hurl allegations against me and totally ignore what I say. And the only ‘rebuttal’ thus far is just a plain denial. Denial is no defence. If it is then Najib Tun Razak never met Altantuya Shaariibuu since he has denied meeting her.

In short, you know what I say is correct and you know there is no way you can rebut what I say. Hence you ignore what I say and do not reply to it and instead make all sorts of allegations, which are very far from the truth.

This is just like those Umno blogs that say I live in London and that one day I was so drunk I fell into a monsoon drain. Many kampong-minded Umno supporters who have never been to London and do not know that the UK does not have a monsoon season and London does not have monsoon drains will, of course, believe this story.

These opposition diehards are just the reverse of the same coin called Umno. They are all cut from the same cloth. Their doctrine is: you are free to agree with me but God help you if you say something that I don’t like.

Oh, by the way, take a look at the picture below. Today, some people in PAS are saying that they want Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang instead of Anwar Ibrahim to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia if Pakatan Rakyat wins the next general election. I already ‘said’ this four years ago. And if you can’t interpret what that picture means then you are dumber than I thought.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

i) No! It does not. That just means you are noble. Those who support the opposition are noble. And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing — you support the government. It is like religion. Either you are a Muslim or you are a Christian. And if you are not a Christian then you must surely be a Muslim. That is the only logical explanation.

Noble?!? Seeing Pakatan’s 90% failed manifesto lies and ethical or democratic (nepotistic) flaws for what DAP is, is noble. To praise those who support Pakatan as noble – is not noble.

ii) And if you do not support the opposition that can only mean one thing — you support the government.

Inculpating hegelian dialectic thought still eh? Either or? How about ‘none of the above’? Better yet, how about ‘make your own option’ or make your own political party or run for candidacy as an independent candidate. RPK is not a democratic man, and spins propaganda that kills freedom of thought as well as skews facts. Pakatan is a failure as bad as BN. The 3rd Force indies among citizens could likely be better than eithetr BN or PR, so please don;t try to make lies into truth. Money cannot buy breeding as much as breeding cannot buy HONESTY and ETHICS which are prerequisite to the status of NOBILITY. If for love the people RPK, or love for democracy, this sort of article will never appear on media. The readers should know what RPK represents by now.

iii) The ugly side of the Chinese

Apartheid and racism directed at any race, will bring out the very worst of any race. Who threw the first blow here? Not the Chinese. Look in the mirror and decide if racism or apartheid is what reflects . . . Enuff said.

Looks like the Constitutional Lawsuit needs to be carried out by unknowns, to ensure :

Does power always rely on threat? Why is fair mindedness so elusive to some sorry souls?

Man seeks equality and fair treatment, but threats of murder and nasty tricks (like cement pools for the love of semen rather than EQUALITY) are the signs of mental illness and techno-fascism. Fight fair and find that some low minded dhimmitudisation a certain race holds to, have no part of Humanity’s future much like apes who did not use fire, or understand that the Human Rights Charter is not something a country signs for fun, nor being a Muslim allows for such blatant displays of ill meaning natures, bronze souls do not belong in the arena of words (and will be treated to what they deserve) and those with so much who want to take even more from even equality, that will threaten for mere monetary gain, need to talk to the clerics at Al-Azhar University, search their souls at their so-called Kabaa of Islam before threatening people with death which will never be on the side of the unjust and profane . . . are we to understand that there is no religion and only politics and murder in Malaysia and a certain coalition, much less at very least ethics? Everything these UMNO or BN people have today is from the idiotic voting choice of the taxpayers and now these guys dare threaten the 99% who made them? Disappointing.

Let me start by asking you these questions. Does Islam encourage you to devastate the forests? Does Islam encourage you to wipe out your wildlife? Does Islam encourage you to fuck up minority communities (e.g. the Orang Asli)? Does Islam encourage you to venture into business without knowing head or tail of that business? Does Islam encourage you to repeat your mistakes, year in, year out for 20 years? Does Islam encourage you to close your eyes to the rape of your land?

The answer is obvious. Of course, Islam DOES NOT encourage you to do all these things. But I think the Kelantan MB Nik Aziz and his merrymen from PAS have a different understanding than the rest of us.

I first visited Lojing Highlands, Kelantan was in 1991. Nik Aziz was already the MB of Kelantan then. The area was a mess. Vast tracts of forest were being cleared to make way for agriculture. And these were pristine highland forests at elevations ranging from 500m – 1500m. Tens of thousands of hectares were given away to State government linked companies as well as friendly parties to develop highland agriculture.

The state government mantra then was “if the farmers in Cameron Highlands can do it, so can we”. The geniuses in Kelantan at that time thought they could replicate Cameron Highlands which at that time had a total 2000 hectares of agriculture land. They thought if 2000 hectares in CH can produce RM x million revenue, then opening 20,000 hectares in Lojing will produce RM 10x million.

They forgot something very important. The farmers in Cameron Highlands have had 50 years of farming experience in the highlands. Their farms were small, averaging 1 – 2 hectares. They were individual farmers who slogged their butts off for managing even a 2-hectare farm in the mountains was a major undertaking. No sane person will open up thousands of hectares in the highlands to do farming.

I returned to Lojing several times since. 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2011. Nothing has changed. Highland forests are continuously being opened up on large scale (obviously the geniuses in Kelantan have not learnt anything about highlands agriculture). Obviously, some people are making tonnes of money from the timber that is being ripped off from the so-called “agriculture land”. The rivers have silted up. Wildlife has disappeared. The Orang Asli communities are worse off than they were 20 years ago.

Hills being ripped off for so-called “agriculture”

Free teh tarik anyone? The once pristine Sg. Brooke and Sg. Belatop are now just mud flows.

Logging is still widespread in Lojing. This is despite the national policy prohibiting logging at elevations above 1000m.

This is where teh tarik comes from. Land opened up for “agriculture” with almost no erosion control measures.

Most of the agriculture development in Lojing have failed. The companies benefitted from selling of the timber from the thousands of hectares of land given to them. The 1000-hectares Yakin tea plantation has been abandoned (yo, you dungus in Nik Aziz’s office – just because Boh can manage a tea plantation, does not mean that you also can. Boh is in that business. You are not. You just plundered that 1000 hectares). PKINK was given over 1000 hectare for orchards and agro-tourism – sampai sekarang habuk pun tak ade.Kayu balak dah lesap.

Land ownership in Lojing Highlands. I am sorry if you can’t read the map. Almost 30,000 hectares have been given away to state-linked companies and state agencies and friendly companies over the past 20 years. Almost zero productivity expect for the timber that has been taken away. Mind you these are all highland country with mostly steep slopes.

A few Chinese farmers from Cameron Highlands who leased small areas from Kelantan state government linked companies are doing pretty well. Other than that, agriculture output from Lojing is minimal – despite it being more than 20 years since Nik Aziz and his merrymen opened and devastated Lojing. None of the state government linked companies and state agencies have produced anything substantial despite wiping out over 20,000 hectares of pristine highland forests Nothing. Kosong. Telor ayam. In every aspect, Lojing has been a disaster.

The environmental cost must be epic. The amount of erosion and sedimentation from Lojing must run into the hundreds of millions of tonnes over the past 20 years. The once gorgeous Sg. Brooke and its tributaries are now nothing but mud flows. An area that was rich in wildlife is now pretty pathetic. Great damage was inflicted onto the Orang Asli communities in Pos Brooke, Pos Hendrop and Pos Blau. All their water sources were destroyed. The forests that they depended for food and other produce were devastated. The orang asli traditional land were given to outsiders or usurped by state agencies.

If you think I am lying, I suggest you take a drive to Lojing. It is just an hour or less from Cameron Highlands. See the damages for yourself. The rape has been going on continuously for more than 20 years.

I would like to end my story by asking Nik Aziz this “Is this Islamic?”

I counted 300 timber trucks on the Gua Musang road coming out of the Lojing area nearly 15 years ago. Still have the photographs….
Little point in condemning the decisions/actions that have lead to the present dire consequences. Perhaps we ought to consider instead how & what can be done to heal the Lojing scar of our apolitical MotherEarth in some truly creative ways.
November 11, 2012 10:05 AM
@CK said…

the way Kelantan is administered is an insult to Islam. Kelantan is now the poorest state in Malaysia, has the highest rape, incest and HIV cases. All the smart Kelantanese have left the state.
November 11, 2012 6:24 PM
@Lisa said…

Everybody did it. When I fly in Europe and look down on the landscape, there is not a single, not a single piece of land undeveloped. Not a single small hill. You can take off from Amsterdam and land in The Prague and you will not find it. I’ve been through this frustration on seeing how our land has been bled since the 90s and cried and wrote to newspapers, but I must say, and I’m sorry but it was pointless.
November 12, 2012 9:11 AM

@Cat-from-Sydney said…

Your Royal Monyetness,
We have visited this place many times and still cry when we see the scars on Mother Earth. Will be there again next week, hopefully with better results as cooperation from the natives is quite difficult to obtain. purrrr….meow!
November 12, 2012 9:17 AM

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Rivers should have a 1km ‘off limits’ buffer or green lung. Water tables perhaps a minimum of 10km worth. As for cultivation or farming, micromanagement is reliant on the ‘energy’ of individuals, so mass produced versions will never have the same quality, or as the article suggests will fail entirely or at least take longer than usual. A farmer of tea has ‘tea energy’, city people without any energy but city energy will not be able to grow anything, and MUST start from microscale (heck some can’t even tend garden) before ‘managing’ massive plantations. Farm conglomerates might possibly be impossible from land alone, the heart and interest of the person MUST be there, or all cultivation will not be comparable. This must also be considered against environment and the spiritual nature of the area a product is from. TEA from an Islamic prayer ‘ridden/infested’ area (Islam strip mines spiritually IMHO, thats why all those forests tend to become deserts or urban deserts wherever Muslims are) and will not be bought by markets, and that is why Chinese neutrality has made so much Chinese produce somehow so buyable, or Thai rice for example (which still has dangerously Buddhist leanings . . . ).

COFFEE from Islamic prayer ‘ridden/infested’ areas like UAE, most of Malaysia or even less secular parts of Indonesia (civet cat pre-pooped or not) will also be doomed to failure, simply because the buyers do not want to be Islamised by proxy. Conversely consider why Brazilian (sea, surf and bootay!) coffee ‘somehow’ seems superior – thats because there are no robed ghosties of locals hovering around the plants after hours with intent to ‘Islamise’. AT least in occult theory informed buyers at least, products from ‘religious’ areas are UNBUYABLE perhaps excepting the ‘Wuwei’ mentality of the Chinese (inaction) that actually improves a product by sheer non-investment of the pathos that other religions infuse their products with! Intent (or NEUTRALITY of intent) gives the product pedigree, and only the most secular producers can win in this game (which is why USA’s fanchises are somewhat ahead, though tainted by Freemasonry to a degree). Spiritual CLEANLINESS/NEUTRALITY of food is CRITICAL for sales assurances.

Tea from fundo heartland Malaysia? Forget that, India and China takes the cake FOREVER instead where tea is concerned. Though coconuts as well from India have the same pollution, the informed had better give the Indian grown coconuts or coconut products a wide berth. The whole gamut of Malaysian products is thus spiritually POLLUTED, and for a generalised (and cautiously presumptuous) example, from experiences at WW2, Austwictz may have just made German products that much more ethical (Nazi SS used alot of occultism, but since they have given up on that, the products PERHAPS are superiorly secular where applicable, though Caucasian obsession with the Aramean faith of Xianity and Xianity’s brand of proselytization could still down them, Judaism’s conversions are far more subtle but equally manipulative to no point as all 3 Monotheisms are Amon-Ra derived which was the invention of the reviled heretic Pharoah in any case – bring back the original faith systems regionally to put an end to the insanity . . .)

Then consider education and religious education (even more dangerous) and here you have the reasons for failures of such and such races. The spiritual hostility/manipulation guarantees failure. Let me say though what Malaysia might be worth – low density/nomadic ORANG ASLI UBAT *from* rainforests that could be worth a fortune, but all Malaysia has now are sprawling grey expanses of prayer blaring in neighbourhoods of backbiting political wannabes filled with greed and hatred towards other races and of course the faux-Arab ulama wannabes harrassing all and sundry with Hudud, all of the above who have who forgotten their beautiful naturistic Orang Asli beginnings.

So much for Malaysia’s viability and uniqueness, just a spiritual colony of the Arabs who already are more known for violent puishments (Hudud limb hacking, beheading), religious insularism (this and that are polluting/polluted these people are beneath us! / different God or Godless so are enemeies immediately/must be cursed to go to Hell (which might be an semi-dream state world as much as Heaven, created from constant inculpation while ALIVE so when dying hallucinates about, or has the inculpated NDE type experience) – luckily there are more people and better tech armed nations to counter thse barbarians), low tolerance to other cultures (eat pork or drink alcohol so entire peoples must be targeted, facilities for processing disallowed etc..) and terrorism (drawing a bomb turban cartoon means innocent people not involved in the 10th Crusade, who have never ever heard of the Prophet must die while on the way to work in a subway or have their Twin Towers collapse) than anything else. Islam is a copy of Xianity which is a copy of Judaism which is a copy of Amon-Ra which was a result of Heretic Pharoah Akenathan’s LAZINESS. Guess those 72 virgins might have been guess who’s fond mirage while struggling in a hellish oasis bordering a desert creating hell on Earth – how about a volcanic region called New Hell in the deepest desert, would be fitting . . .

Islam and Arabism is unique and very distinct, but bloodthirsty, impractical, too martial and not viable for this generation of YoutubeVid/MTV making, subculture studied, politically aware world citizens who’d rather be eating whatever meat of their choice (including PORK), drinking alcohol, smoking pot and contemplating the Universe (while dressed in BDSM fetish wear or Cosplay?) than irritating/trying to destroy peoples, communities, countries (at very last being manipulatively sanctimonious about being vegetarian) that are different from them. Religion belongs to the last millenia, and though religion should be kept alive and have spaces, cannot be allowed to impinge on secular people, legally, spiritually or otherwise. There must be spaces for all even if any group’s beliefs/activities are supposedly illegal to another – with the choice of consent to be part of any community the democratic choice of the individual ABOVE the preference of the state.

GEORGE TOWN- The DAP disciplinary committee will decide the fate of Pulau Tikus assemblyman Koay Teng Hai after he failed to turn up at the recent state assembly meeting.

Penang DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow said the state working committee had decided to refer Koay’s absence at the meeting between Nov 1 and 9 to the disciplinary committee.

Chow said the disciplinary committee will be made up of a five-member panel. They will be drawn from the central executive committee and headed by Tan Kok Wai.

It was reported Koay would also face disciplinary action for ignoring Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s refusal to approve his leave.

He missed the assembly to attend a meeting on the United States Election/Project for Young Political Leaders organised by the US embassy without Lim’s permission. Koay could not be reached for comment.

– New Straits Times

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

F**k DAP. Who cares what DAP thinks? Only the RAKYAT living in Pulau Tikus will decide if the Pulau Tikus adun stays or not! Maybe DAP will be replaced by independent candidates by the next GE. DAP has failed 90% of campaign manifestos and has NEVER addressed APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA.

ARTICLE 14

Yes, you must behave, Bung — Erna Mahyuni – November 22, 2012

Nov 22 — You have to admire the Kinabatangan MP on some level. No other MP gladly puts his foot in his mouth with so much relish, you begin to wonder if his foot is delicious.

Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin in person is an affable man, who prides himself on his “every man” demeanour, and talks more like your drunk uncle than a lawmaker.

The problem is, Bung, is that you’re not just an embarrassing family member but an elected Member of Parliament.

There are expectations that come with the role, unfortunately.

One of them is the realisation that you can’t just say what you want, when you want.

Being an elected representative means there are standards of behaviour we expect you to meet.

At the very least, you shouldn’t swear, in public, especially at one of the people you are hoping votes for you in the next election.

Must I remind you GE13 is just around the corner???We’re all allowed a slip of the tongue once in a while. We’re all human, after all.

The problem with you, Bung, is that you don’t so much “slip”, as much as “stab” with your tongue.??What is unacceptable is that your Barisan Nasional leaders let you get away with your outrageous statements.

That bocor statement you made all that time ago? It was chauvinistic, rude and unacceptable. You didn’t just slur an opposition MP but all women. You have never apologised for that, have you? Don’t get me started on your smart remarks about women drivers.

But your greatest act of chauvinism, Bung, was ignoring the law of the land by refusing to ask permission from your first wife to marry your second. I can understand you were impatient, as your new wife is such a pretty young thing.

Did you forget you’re an elected official? Aren’t elected officials supposed to, you know, follow the rules?

Instead, you hopped off to Thailand for a quickie wedding and, unfortunately, got caught.??Being an MP doesn’t put you above the law.

If anything, you’re supposed to obey and uphold it. ??So it’s a little rich, your defending your right to use the F-word to ‘put someone in his/her place’.

You gave up that right when you took your oath. ??As a representative of the people, you are supposed to be someone we look up to. You are supposed to set an example.

You are supposed to maintain a code of conduct that we expect you to follow, because if you can’t follow it, then why should we???Some people think that calling you out for it in public is ‘sensationalising a non-issue’.

I beg to differ.

In other countries, MPs using foul words in public is frowned upon as well.

People are going to call you names and insult you.

Get used to it. As an MP, you must take the higher ground and ignore those who call you names.

As someone who gets plenty of insults on Twitter and in my column’s comments, I understand the need to vent.

But Twitter isn’t the place for it, Bung, and you know that.

All we’re asking from you is that you show a little class and save the F-word for occasions when half of Malaysia can’t hear you.

So behave, Bung.

Or we’ll have no qualms whatsoever not to vote for you or anyone you champion.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Erna versus Bung . . . polygamy is not exclusively a preserve OR punching bag of any culture (ancient or modern), and more an expression of individuals in relation to other individuals commitment in numbers more than 2 . . . Radin or Raden btw is an ORIGINAL Indonesian name, without Islam’s/Arab’s influence. So at least 1 person in the MALAY Dewan has 2/3rds of a truly Nusantaran name . . .

WHAT? Even most adults of the day do not ask their parents if they can marry who and who, much less a wife, though consultations may take place.

There must be though certain courtesies that the civilised 2nd wife should respect AFTER marriage that a blackball by society can retaliate by at very most if they do not treat the first wife with general respect as expected in society (i.e. ‘CHIVALRY’ to the first wife, like pouring drinks or opening doors – this politeness contrived or not is for the pleasure and dignity of the HUSBAND btw.

The second wife should defer to the first wife in certain ways such as not being ‘competitive’ or not being arrogant (the begum of the harem must be respected because families are built around seniority based hierarchy to a degree – even if the first wife is not well studied or very educated or even pretty etc. . . . MANNERS makes for attractiveness and a dignified family), though the first wife may by reason that sex is available from the second or subsequent, refuse at reasonable intervals not more than 50% (or 66% in the case of 2 wives) of what was asked for in the past by the husband – barring ageing libidos.

The first wife also remains married to the husband *specifically* for the face of the children hereon, even in the case of chilled relations between her and the husband. But to ASK PERMISSION to marry? Whats wrong with you Erna?

As discussed in my blog elsewhere, SOME (only some) women experience a change in their bodies after having children, and this can also be a reason to refuse sex, and this also becomes the reason the husband gets a second or subsequent wife. Being a modern woman or even a lesbian or a feminist does not mean that older forms of family do no exist, Erma has not been mixing around alot with polygamous families even as androgamous families are anathema to the polygamous ones. You’re showing your narrow minded side here Erma!

No where Erna’s response is concerned. NO, anyone who has more than one wife NEED NOT behave in the way Erna Mahyuni describes. Erna doesn’t belong in Bung’s society (or harem), not should Erna cast stones at cultures that do not involve Erna. One of Erna’s lines of logic is viable though, MPs need more class AND term limits as well, so in calls for Bung to step down, Erna and moi will be on the same side though not for the same reasons (with Ernha’s reasoning stemming from some inadequacy or simplistic mindset that feels a need to attack Bung’s right to marry freely as much as Bung’s first wife has a right to demand a divorce (which is not happening as of this comment posting at any rate). Inverse jealousy perhaps? Hey there’s always plastic surgery . . .

ARTICLE 15

Muezzin of Pahang state mosque killed in accident – November 17, 2012

KUANTAN, Nov 17 — A muezzin of Sultan Ahmad 1 state mosque was killed in a road accident at the traffic junction near Jalan Tun Ismail here, this morning.

Under unwritten spiritual covenents of all religions, no intent for sneaky proselytization via vocalised psychic intent will be tolerated by ‘God’, or the following of whatever faith. All muezzins should sing with NEUTRALITY and sincerity and ONLY IN SPECIFIC PSYCHIC ADDRESS to consensual Muslims. I even heard a muezzin GARGLING while singing, obviously intended to proselytize that when a person gargles, they are ‘praying’ – this form of dishonesty is as damnable in ‘god’s’ view, as slurred satanic prayers in conventional lyrics in music (also NLP mispronunciations), a parent intentionally encouraging their children to make a ruckus to disturb the neighbours, or inserting ‘convertive symbolism’ in MTVs of any sort.

Ethics in INFORMED CONSENT or else the spirit that made a muezzin a Muslim will depart for the nearest best converted person and the muezzin will be spiritually impacted at least, hurt or even DIE, this could be anyone that hears the muezzin and is converted. The worthiest UNCONVERTED person will receive the ‘spirit’ of the muezzin. Needless to say a muezzin needs to have very clear intent while singing and being heard by so many that are not Muslim or may not even be friendly to Muslims, a muezzin’s job is particularly hazardous as opposed to the Ulama who is heard ONLY by the faithful. The only caveat of safety for the muezzin is an attitude of deference to those auditorily impinged by the prayer, even if just vaguely like a mosquito in the background, the spiritual effects in the astral and ethereal will be potentially quite dangerous. For Prophet had said :

Ayah 203 of Surah A’raaf: “Disrespect and rashness clouds the mind and it is only politeness and respect that brings more divine mercy.’

Singing WITH intent to convert without informed consent is RUDE and Allah will have no protection for those who behave in a disrespectful manner to non-Muslims who are minding their own business before being disturbed by a prayer they didn’t want to hear, disturbing their concentration which is their god given right. Some people (regardless of faith or wealth or position – an ordinary secular citizen, itinerant or beggar, who was asleep or resting enjoying the silence, might have been subconsciously been lending strength to a Mujaheedin in battle before the prayer of the Muezzin woke them up, causing the Mujaheedin to weaken at a critical moment and lose the battle in a critical region of the world where battles for/against Islam are continuing . . . or technical malfunctions in vehicles (even dangerous dimensional or temporal disruptions, releases of EMP type effects that interact with the ionosphere or even the Sun causing Earthquakes or Solar Flares etc..) may even be doing ‘god’s’ work, before a prayer disturbs them and hence god will punish the offender. Prayer by voice rather than loudspeaker though must be fairly tolerated, though again a prayer must not be ‘directed’ at any except to ‘god’ and for Human Rights and Democratic Principle respecting matters preferably.

ARTICLE 16

From Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka: The emancipatory journey for a green Malaysia — Boon Kia Meng – November 22, 2012

NOV 22 — Humans make history; but never in circumstances and situations of their own choosing. This insightful observation by Marx, as he watched over the social upheavals unfolding in Europe in the middle of the 19th century, is a timely expression on what is happening in Malaysia today.

Have Malaysians ever heard of a group of ordinary, fellow Malaysians — our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our children — marching slowly but surely, on foot, all 300 kilometres of it, rain or shine, from Kuantan to Dataran Merdeka? All united in a common cause: to stop any further environmental degradation in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, where stopping the Lynas rare earth refinery in Gebeng, and the Murum and Baram dams in Sarawak, constitutes a fundamental demand.

These Malaysian citizens chose to embark on this journey (dubbed “Langkah Lestari”) because for far too long we have collectively as a nation allowed indiscriminate “development” and rapacious capitalistic resource extraction to go on, all in the name of economic growth and wealth creation.

Just witness the rapid decimation of our natural forestry and the displacement of our fellow indigenous Malaysian communities in Sabah/Sarawak and the peninsula. These have become common phenomena and Malaysians know deep inside that the present state of affairs cannot go on indefinitely without irreversible consequences to our common habitat.

It was their spirit and determination that drew me and my friends to join them in their walk for environmental justice. Donning green shirts and a peasant farmer’s hat, we experienced first-hand what ordinary Malaysians can achieve when they organise themselves, a trend that typifies the sea change in people’s attitude and participation in citizenship activism since 2008.

Ordinary mothers arrange lodgings and food distribution, grandpas and grandmas providing moral support with their feet and encouraging words, fathers managing logistic details, while the young, even little children, learn to take their first baby steps in authentic environmentalism and love for the country.

In other words, “Langkah Lestari” epitomises what has been truly essential in any democratic movement for bringing real social change: the twin values of self-organisation and mutual aid. Against these values, no authoritarian state or oppressive regime can stand a chance. Ordinary citizens, learning to organise themselves, little by little, will win the hearts and minds of the majority of the populace.

Make no mistake. The detractors and spokespersons for corporate and vested interests, such as Lynas Corp, will try to justify the viability of their operations on the grounds of economic development and job creation. Malaysian citizens have to judge for themselves whether this “win-win” deal is really beneficial for the country, especially for the residents in Gebeng/Kuantan.

What are Malaysians getting in exchange for the 12-year tax holiday given to Lynas, estimated at RM1.8 billion per annum, not to mention the billions of ringgit of revenue Lynas will generate from these operations? In reality, this is a classic case of neoliberal capitalism in action: the privatisation of profits, whilst socialising the costs, both human and environmental.

In the Lynas case, it is even more farcical, where we have a case of a foreign mining corporation, which is reaping stratospheric profits as a result of the Western Australian mining boom, deciding to externalise its social costs to another country. Instead of acting as protector and guardian of her citizens’ security and well-being, the Malaysian government has abdicated that role for the sake of endless capital accumulation.

It is no wonder that people from all walks of life are seeing through the lies of neoliberal ideology and deciding to leave the sidelines and join this struggle. The patronising dogma of big business that preaches wealth trickling down to the masses is increasingly hollow and losing its ideological hold on the people.

Try telling the Orang Asal brothers and sisters from Sarawak, who are marching daily with their Semenanjung compatriots, on the merits of an unfettered, free market economy that promises prosperity for all. Our indigenous brothers and sisters will tell you about the true face of “economic development”, where countless thousands of them have experienced forced displacement, land grabbing and environmental destruction.

Politicians from both sides wax lyrical about the need for more development and allocation funds for Sabah and Sarawak. They fail to see that uneven development and destruction of traditional forms of living have led to increasing proletarianisation (making them wage-earners, instead of their traditional self-sufficient farming existence) of our indigenous peoples, precisely what a capitalist economy cannot fail but generate.

These are the hard truths made visible by this 300km walk. It forces us to confront the dark, hidden side of our exploitative economy and its unsustainable ecological trajectory.

This brings us back to the significance of this Sunday, November 25, in the history of this nation. The marchers have decided to occupy Dataran Merdeka once they reach there, awaiting the presence of the prime minister and Members of Parliament from both sides of the political divide the very next morning.

Again ordinary Malaysians like them face the arbitrary exercise of state power in the hands of City Hall and the police when the mayor of KL said that no gathering in Dataran is allowed without an application for permit. We know that the upsurge of participation of Malaysians in public protests since Bersih 3.0 is no historical accident. The momentum of people’s movements will only grow stronger and stronger by the day and “Himpunan Hijau 2.0: Langkah Lestari” in Dataran Merdeka this Sunday will be no different. Thousands upon thousands of Malaysians will be there, come what may.

As I sat in the room with our fellow marchers, listening to the children of Bentong sing a song dedicated to their struggle, I felt strangely emotional. It was as if their voices helped us peer into a future of a new Malaysia that is taking shape right before our eyes. Of its shape and detail, no one could tell with any certainty. But one thing is for sure. It will be a Malaysia very different from the present one, burdened by her heavy history of class and environmental exploitation, and ethnic-based political ideologies.

“Those who do not move, do not notice their chains,” the radical democrat Rosa Luxemburg once said. Thank you, participants of Langkah Lestari, for walking and making Malaysians conscious of the shackles that are enslaving us. Thank you, Saudara Wong Tack (the organising chairperson), for reminding all Malaysians that true emancipation lies in our very own hands: “Pilihan di tangan kita!”

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Wildebeest walk even further and every single year of their life, not just once, but only are fodder for Crocodiles of the Nile, the predators along the way. REAL Emancipation is not feeling proud about walking or cycling around mindlessly but fighting for :

The greenest society can form, but if minorities are not equals but dhimmis who subvert intent of the articles and words for freedom and equality, there will be no dignity of life for non-Muslims and in general non-politicians. Pakatan sure has alot of ‘fun’ activities to distract the Rakyat from equality eh? And the biggest cheerleader of this sort of accept Hudud (actually not thats accept ‘Hadi’ but we all know that can become Hudud since hadi has not addressed the concerns of Article 4’s response above) but don’t address Bumiputera b.s. is term limitless, nepotistic DAP . . .

SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS: Countries like Malaysia are wrestling with graft on the national level, but have a better chance of reducing it substantially sooner

A bumper sticker on a taxi in Kuala Lumpur sends an anti-corruption message. The prime minister’s initiatives are a brave new approach to transparent and accountable governance.

Tunku Abdul Aziz on Oct 2,

I was invited to participate in a televised debate on corruption, organised by Channel News Asia as part of its Bridging Asia: The Singapore Debates. The motion before the house was “Can Asia Beat Corruption?”

Professor Mark Thompson, director, Southeast Asian Research Centre at the City University, Hong Kong, teamed up with prominent Singapore anti-corruption lawyer Wilson Ang to try and convince a critical studio audience that Asia could lick corruption, citing cases of countries once at the bottom of the Transparency International Perceptions Index and today showing signs of improvement.

They drew comfort from, and put great store by, the fact that nearly all Asian countries had introduced anti-corruption laws. But they forgot to mention that a million anti-corruption laws would amount to nothing without strong, effective enforcement.

In those countries, and to some extent in Malaysia, enforcement continued to be derisory. Laws are of course required for defining public service behaviour: they are essential for creating institutions, but of themselves, “as a deterrent to unethical public behaviour”, are largely ineffective.

Ann Florini, professor of Public Policy, School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University and I were not persuaded that Asia could confront corruption decisively because, unlike Singapore or Hong Kong, there was no evidence of strong political will emerging any time soon in much of Asia.

Good governance was totally absent in seriously corrupt societies where best practices were more observed in the breach than the observance. In such countries, corruption would continue to run its course with little or no prospect of even reducing it marginally.

I said that in the case of Singapore, which was once a very corrupt colonial backwater, if at the time of independence the city state was run by a bunch of crooks instead of Lee Kuan Yew, the course of its history might have been quite different.

Countries in Asia that managed their affairs well and supported their institutions, the likes of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia, while still wrestling with corruption at the national level, apparently had a better chance of reducing corruption substantially over a shorter time frame.

Ann Florini and I won the debate against worthy opponents. The verdict was that as long as Asia continued to pay lip service to fighting corruption in their societies, it would invariably be regarded as a profitable, low-risk enterprise. Corruption would be in robust good health.

Electronic voting was employed by those in the studio as well as those watching at home. I must say they do these things extremely well in Singapore, as indeed we have come to expect. I believe it is the institutions in which they worked that made the difference. Strong institutions produce highly motivated and competent people.

I remain unabashed and unrepentant in my complete support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s national transformation programmes as I see in his initiatives a brave new approach to transparent and accountable governance for Malaysia, and not a day too soon.

Over the years, we have, largely by default, allowed unprincipled governance to take on a life of its own, with predictable consequences. These comprehensive transformation programmes, covering a whole range of critical social, economic, legislative and governance issues, once implemented, will help ensure for Malaysia a place of honour at the top table, among the “clean” nations of the world. I am confident that as a result of these measures, we would be better armed and equipped to tackle the scourge of corruption head on.

I am happy that the Najib administration has shown great moral strength to resist the temptation of turning the national transformation programmes into a political slogan: they are far too important for the long-term future of our nation to be trivialised and used as a political play thing.

They are not about scoring a political point. They are about getting the country out of its slumber, out of the rut and bouncing back with clear and transparent policies that will grow the economy, unite our people and ensure peace and harmony for all Malaysians.

The government should not be distracted by the mountains of lies and innuendoes spun without a break by the opposition “axis of evil”, with apologies to the junior Bush. Najib must do whatever it takes legally to win big and win well to save the country from the clutches of unprincipled political adventurers, who, lacking experience, would be too risky a gamble to be allowed to govern this country.

Let me remind the Anwars and Guan Engs of this world that it is easier to destroy than to build. On that note, I wish my Muslim readers a blessed Aidiladha.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Well at least there is a critical view (3rd force inclined hopefully?) on the so-called Opposition in Malaysia. But for this part . . . I said that in the case of Singapore, which was once a very corrupt colonial backwater, if at the time of independence the city state was run by a bunch of crooks instead of Lee Kuan Yew, the course of its history might have been quite different . . . is quite nonsensical and propaganda inclined. Lee Kuan Yew has written MANY crook like laws into the Singaporean system.

Extreme salaries worldwide second only to corruption ridden Kenya says alot about Singapore. There is no justification of such extreme salaries, that and many other things often covered up that make Singapore a very corrupt NEO-COLONIAL ‘military base’, that has ** INSTITUTIONALIZED CORRUPTION written into law**.

I think Tunku should hand over his (non-existent) degree in politics to moi (also non-existent degree), simply for not being honestly academic as an academic should be, in a preferably academic article, or simply because Tunku can’t think straight being so afflicted or colluding on the Lee Junta ethos. Honesty please dear Tunku! Friendship does not mean 99.999% of the citizens should suffer so 2 people feel good about themselves! Not at our expense!

Strategic location makes Singapore a military base that foreign powers pretend to pour money into for a sense of normalcy. Apart from unique culture and unique goods local to the region, there is no reason to travel or even trade at all. Port of call issues are no longer viable either due to long range ships etc.. This is one occasion where otherwise useful associations and the myopia of life long friendships end up hampering the truth of the matter. See below link for some unpleasant Singaporean reality that a Beloved Leader junta of a nepotistic and term limitless political careerist family or a privileged member of Royalty can never relate to.

OCT 27 — Is Singapore really experiencing its golden age, or are we missing a part of the plot?

In a recent commentary, Straits Times Editor Sumiko Tan described what she called ‘Singapore’s Golden Age’, with references to Singapore’s impressive skyline, boasting an array of new developments like Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Flyer, just to name a few.

Citing statistics and surveys, Tan implied that the city-state must be doing something right and is attracting many foreigners to come and work here.

She further stated: “Property is a national preoccupation, but it’s not whether you can afford a roof over your head that Singaporeans fret about. It’s whether or not to get a second property to invest in.”

Sorry Sumiko, but I beg to differ as there are undoubtedly a growing number of Singaporeans who are struggling to buy a decent home for themselves or for their families, let alone purchase a second property.

There was even a recent article which first appeared in The New Paper highlighting how cash-over-valuations (COVs) for resale HDB flats are high, making it more difficult for buyers to acquire units. The report quoted B. Wong, an operations manager, who said that he and his wife would not have been able to pay the S$60,000 (RM150,000) COV for their 11th-storey four-room flat in Punggol had they not sold their previous unit.

Moreover, property prices rose to record levels last quarter amid low interest rates, prompting the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to implement new home loan regulations to prevent a property price bubble.

Private home prices rose 0.5 per cent to a new high in Q3 this year. As for the public housing market, Singapore recently saw its first S$1 million HDB resale flat transaction.

So it is unlikely that the majority of Singaporeans are indeed preoccupied with acquiring more investment properties, especially with the many netizens regularly grumbling about sky-high housing prices.

I don’t argue with the fact that Singapore has seen astounding progress over the last few decades, but it might be time to also accept that not all that glitters is gold. — TR Emeritus

* Romesh Navaratnarajah is the Senior Editor at PropertyGuru.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

ABOUT 300 people staged a peaceful protest in front of the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple here today against the proposed construction of two blocks of 29-storey condominiums close to the Batu Caves limestone outcrop near here.

They gathered at about 10 am, carrying placards with slogans, one of which called read: “Stop the construction and save the Batu Caves natural heritage and the world-renowned religious shrine”.

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Dhevasthanam chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah said the development of the two blocks of 29-storey condominiums would also lead to the destruction of the world’s tallest Lord Murugan statue situated less than 300 metres from the proposed development.

“The construction would endanger the lives of the devotees and tourists from around the world due to the (possibility of) falling objects as a result of the massive development in the vicinity of the temple,” he told a news conference, here.

“The project must be stopped permanently, not temporarily, and we urge the (Selangor) government to consider our plight,” he said.

Former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the high-rise construction should be stopped because it could have great adverse impact on the eco-system of the limestone hills there.

“We are not asking for money or land, we are asking to stop the construction permanently because it will also affect many species of animals and plants,” said Samy Vellu, who is Malaysia’s Special Envoy for Infrastructure to India and South Asia.

Malaysian Nature Society secretary Lim Teck Wyn claimed that it was unsafe to locate the proposed development close to Batu Caves.

He recalled an incident of Oct 19, 1973, when a massive piece of rock sheared off the cliff face of Gunung Cheroh in Ipoh and landed on the village of Kampung Kacang Putih, killing 42 people.

Following that tragedy, the Minerals and Geoscience Department (MGD) came up with guidelines for development next to limestone hills.

The Batu Caves cliff face next to the proposed blocks of condominiums has discontinuities and overhangs, which means that the MGD criteria for a very high hazard rating is met.

“The zone surrounding the base of the hill is thus considered to be a very dangerous zone where there should be no houses or permanent buildings,” said Lim. – Bernama

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Hi density areas weaken spiritual energy due to lots of living beings taking the areas Qi or Prana. Also tall buildings block line of sight as well as cause further blockage spiritual energy of having people in the way.

“Maybe he did not do his homework. I am disappointed with what he said,” the MCA president was reported as saying today by English-language paper The Sunday Star.

Dr Chua was referring to Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who had earlier this week said hudud could only apply to Muslims as they come under the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts.

Dr Chua said he was disappointed with Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom’s statement. — File pic
“Therefore, hudud law will not impact non-Muslims,” Jamil Khir, the minister for Islamic affairs, told Parliament in a written reply.

He had based his reply on the Federal Constitution, where Islamic law falls under the jurisdiction of each state and is only applicable to Muslims.

“Therefore, if hudud is to be implemented in Malaysia, then the Syariah Court would only have jurisdiction over those who practise Islam in accordance with the Federal Constitution,” Jamil Khir had said.

Malaysia’s dual-track court system has resulted in an blurring of lines in an increasing number of legal disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims over their constitutional rights.

Dr Chua had last week said many Chinese voters are “also aware that the DAP has been lying when it said that hudud will not affect the non-Muslims”.

MCA has been using the hudud issue to warn non-Muslims, especially the Chinese community, away from voting for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the coming polls, insisting that the pact’s “dominant” partner PAS would insist on its implementation despite its ties with secular DAP and PKR.

Hudud has remained a sensitive touch point in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, which has a 60 per cent Muslim population, with political parties continuing to spar over the subject in the run-up to the 13th general election.

The idea of an Islamic criminal code has been used to either scare the minority Chinese voters, or shore up support among the majority Malay-Muslim community.

The Malay community is seen today as split three-ways among the ruling BN’s mainstay and the country’s biggest Malay party, Umno, the opposition’s Islamist PAS, and PKR, which is seen as an urban liberal party.

MCA had also previously warned that Muslim MPs would unite to amend the Federal Constitution in favour of hudud and the Islamic state if PR takes over, but DAP’s Lim Kit Siang had dismissed it as a “lie” to stop the Chinese community from voting for the opposition.

Lim had said that there were only 130 Muslim MPs in the country, while 148 MPs are needed to make up the two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

PAS would not be the dominant member IF all more than 2 term candidates are dropped, and all more than 2 term candidates vacate their posts and all phenotypically similar sycophants would-be and ‘Phenotypical Nepotists’ as well. Thats about 50% of the Pakatan Coalition required to drop out of the race.

To ensure seperation of powers and distribution of power, to prevent vested interest, an MP must not also be on the committee, or Supreme Council (that should be ex-MPs instead), on top of disallowing family blocs in the MP posts or within the committee or Supreme council. That way cults of personality Gaddafi or Mubarak or Ali Salleh style do not form, that end up biasing the political parties intentions, and affecting the nation’s policies. Consider that after various junior posts in the committee, a member would have spent possibly 5-10 years.

Then a 2 term MP or Assemblyman stint possibly 8 years, then finally a Supreme Council post for 2 terms another 8 years. Thats also a grand total of 26 years which is more than enough for any person. So think when a MP post could have seen 8 MPs over the same period of time, how inappropriate that only 1 member among a political party of MILLIONS got to be MP. How is that fair? This is how dictatorship is like in many 3rd world countries, and if the trend is uncontrolled, we end up with an Egypt, a Libya and a Tunisia in the end where revolution is needed to overthrow power mad people in power too long.

The current or would be politician’s intent to the people can be seen in how long they have been in power (long in power but unable to think cleverly enough to destroy racism or fundamentalism or encourage corruption seems to typify most Malaysian politicians btw), or how they consider the above facts and best practices for political parties, so voters take a closer look at the party of your choice and if all intents of candidates or incumbents are bad, run for candidacy yourselves instead! It’s your country too, and that MP’s seat is for EVERYONE, not just those who refuse to amend laws and demand special funeral funds at tax payer cost and enable Astro type monopolies, no-insurance opt outs, extreme fines for minor offences and corrupt and opaque procurement contracts!

Vote 3rd Force and drop all term limitless nepotists and crony capitalist/fundo colluders like DAP or racists like BN!

KUALA LUMPUR, — Manifestos are part and parcel of any general election. They also play a vital role in determining the success or defeat of an electoral candidate or a political party.

The word ‘manifesto’ is being bandied about increasingly in the media and in conversations among the people in the run-up to the 13th General Election, particularly with regard to promises made by political parties prior to the last general election and as to whether they have been delivered or not.

So, what is a manifesto, actually? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate”.

Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali, political science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Dungun, Terengganu, is of the opinion that a good manifesto is one that can inspire the desire among voters to choose a political party or candidate to represent them.

“Of course, the candidate plays an important role but the voters also want to know what is the manifesto or declaration being offered by the party,” he told Bernama.

And to what extent do all voters remember the declarations or promises made prior to a general election?

In a 2009 study of a group of people aged between 21 and 40, it was found that most respondents had forgotten what was offered to them during the 2008 general election campaign, said Che Hamdan.

“At that time (the general election campaign), voters were excited by what was offered in the manifestos of political parties. But after some time, they forgot the points and only recalled them after certain related issues were raised nearer the general election date,” he said.

Deciding factor

Speaking of the next general election, Che Hamdan, who is also a political analyst, said that apart from the contesting candidates, the offer of an attractive manifesto would be among the deciding factors to determine the success or defeat of a party.

“Informing people of what has been implemented is actually very effective. They’ll then know what has and has not been done.

“I feel that the Barisan Nasional (BN) should increase the dissemination of information on what it has implemented,” he said referring to the “Jelajah Janji Ditepati” (‘Promises Fulfilled’ Tour) which provided a platform for people to obtain the latest update on the government’s efforts to help them.

Lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussein of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Social Science Studies Centre, said a manifesto means a declaration or promise which must be presented at any general election.

“Based on political science, there are several elements in a general election, such as campaigns and manifestos. And a manifesto is the main element in any general election,” he said.

The manifesto has a very strong influence in determining the continuity of a party or individual, he added.

A manifesto which fulfills the needs of the people in a particular locality would generally influence the voting pattern,’ he said.

“For example, at the 2008 general election, the opposition had a manifesto which attracted the attention of the people and this allowed them to win in several states,” he said.

However, many of their promises remain unfulfilled, to the point that people were willing to take them to court, he said.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat-led Selangor government was now facing several legal suits brought by consumers over the water subsidy which was promised in the party’s 12th general election manifesto, he said.

Ahmad Atory said voters would also evaluate the ability of a representative to deliver on promises, through the manifesto.

— BERNAMA

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

So, what is a manifesto, actually? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate”. 90% failed manifesto by DAP renders DAP unvotable, being voted in on a failed manifesto of unkept words, cheating the voters. Vote 3rd Force!

PETALING JAYA: DAP chairman Karpal Singh has hit back at his fellow leaders who thought his “one candidate, one seat” proposal should be an internal party matter.

On the contrary, he said DAP could not risk the rakyat having leaders playing multiple roles as assemblyman, MP and executive councillors.

“We must put the interest of the country and the party before self,” Karpal said.

In the 1970s, Karpal said DAP leaders had to contest multiple seats because it did not have enough candidates of calibre.

“In the 1990s, party strongmen had to contest tough seats and give up safe seats for new or weaker candidates as our strategy was to win as many seats as possible to wrest control of Penang,” he pointed out.

“Now, we must accommodate quite a number of professionals who have joined Pakatan Rakyat,” he said, adding that DAP should also be sensitive to the people’s views on the multiple seats issue.

Karpal was responding to talk that some leaders were against the “one candidate, one seat” policy as they would lose the multiple incomes that could exceed RM40,000 a month.

In Selangor, an assemblyman’s pay is about RM11,700, inclusive of allowances, while that of an executive councillor is about RM25,000 (inclusive of state assembly pay). An MP earns about RM15,000 a month.

National organising secretary Teresa Kok, who is an MP, assemblyman and an executive councillor in Selangor, had described Karpal’s call as an “old story”.

Kok said that the party’s central executive committee had already discussed the issue and that the final decision depended on each and every constituency and state.

Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim had said that it was not wise to air the matter via the media as “it would create unnecessary dispute and problem”.

On Friday, Karpal had urged DAP leaders holding both parliamentary and state seats to publicly express their willingness to give up one.

Besides exceptional figures in Penang and Sarawak, all others should be willing to vie for only a single constituency, he said.

“We secured great victory in the last general election because of political tsunami but we do not expect such tsunami in the coming polls. It’s going to be tough as the public will assess the candidates based on their abilities,” he said, adding that the party should change its strategy accordingly.

Karpal also stressed that his intention was sincere, adding that there was no “sinister motive” and that even party grassroots supported the “single seat” policy.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Few people even decades into any industry earn as much. These salaries are more than 10 times average annual wage and excessive by normal standards. Then consider the term limitless and nepotism issue. Does the Rayat want to support these people for unlimited terms? 2 terms at most then vote for someone else but not that person’s relatives! Term limitless and nepotistic political careerists begats Minister Mentors and Senior Ministers, that turn into Gaddafis, Mubaraks and Ali Sallehs.

At 23K a month (or 4 million in Singapore’s case), MPs won’t need to work anymore after 2 terms or even 1 term if thrifty, so please voters, do give another one of your fellow constituents a chance to enjoy a salary windfall and allow seperation of powers as well – if the salaries are lowered to national annual wage levels, then fully expect only the wealthier and not greedy political careerists to join up in politics. In either case TERM LIMITS ensures distribution of political power to ALL constituents, not just Supremo and nepotistic family members or cliques which is what DAP has sunk to now – another PAP, and likely indulging in NEUROTECH techno-fascism that can be used to ensure people have no inclination to challenge bad laws that they do not want to change or even bad laws being introduced all the time)

Parti Rakyat Sarawak has declared itself the “true custodian” of Dayaks in Sarawak, putting a spoke perhaps in Taib’s divide and rule strategy.

Parliamentary election’s is not Taib’s top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he’s had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his ‘partners’ and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition.

Free Malaysia Today

SIBU: Was Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president James Masing sending out a message to Chief Minister Taib Mahmud with his speech during the party’s eight anniversary dinner here last Saturday?

Masing’s emphasis on PRS being a “truly Dayak party” and that its elected representatives were “all Dayaks” wasn’t just a frivolous statement. It was tactical.

It comes at a time of the rapid ‘Dayak awakening’ amongst the rural native communities courtesy of the alternative media, Radio Free Sarawak and a brazen opposition.

Fueling this ‘awakening’ is the floundering Barisan Nasional partners – Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and Sarawak United Peoples party (SUPP) – who can’t seem to get their act together.

The only ‘water-tight’ party appears to be PRS and Taib’s PBB which incidentally is facing simmering discontent within its Bumiputera wing led by the allegedly much spineless Alfred Jabu Numpang.

The next parliamentary election which must be held by April 2013 will be a challenging one for Sarawak BN’s component parties.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is desperately in need of Sarawak’s 31 seats in view of the fluid political situation in Sabah and in the peninsular.

In the last parliamentary elections in 2008, it was Sabah and Sarawak’s collective 56 seats that helped BN retain Putrajaya. Sabah and Sarawak each lost one seat to the opposition, delivering 54 seats to the federal coalition.

But the current scenario is somewhat different. The latest spin from the ground in Sabah is that the Musa Aman-led BN could lose up to 10 if not 12 of the 25 contestable parliamentary seats.

As it stands, speculations are rife that BN could lose up to seven seats from amongst SUPP, SPDP and PRS.

Taib, on his part, has guaranteed Najib a return on all 14 of PBB’s parliamentary seats and there’s no reason for the PM to doubt his ability especially after his performance in the last state election. Taib is not too concerned about parliament.

PRS truly represents Dayaks

Parliamentary election’s is not Taib’s top priority, but state is. Rumours are rife that he’s had a finger in the chaos within SUPP, SPDP and PRS. A divided state coalition allows him to have better control of his ‘partners’ and an increasingly empowered native community courtesy of the opposition.

Masing is said to be a thorn in Taib’s side. In the run-up to last year’s state election, Masing, unhappy with Taib constantly ignoring his proposals, met directly with Najib and in one instant managed to thwart attempts to allow an ex-PRS incumbent elected representative, Larry Sng, from contesting.

On Saturday, stamping PRS’ sway over Sarawak’s majority Dayak community, Masing said the party was the “custodian” of Dayak interest and that its elected representatives were “duty bound” to protect the race.

“For all intents and purposes, PRS is the party which truly represents rural constituencies where most of the Dayaks happen to reside.

“Therefore, we do not apologise for who we are and the basis of our political stand and struggles,” he said alluding perhaps to the known ‘issues’ between him and Taib.

Masing further warned members to be wary of “attempts” to stir discontent within the party adding that enemies and approaches came in different forms.

“There are people who are envious of our strength and will try to de-stabilise us. They maybe individuals or groups.

“They will (either) contest against us when the general election is called (or) slyly fight us by pretending to our friends or friends of the group and pull us down.

“The other way is to de-stabilise us is by picking on some of our members who exhibit certain weaknesses. This will be a subtle approach and by people who we are familiar with. Thus without realizing it, we will fall into a trap which will eventually break the party’s solidarity,” said Masing.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Pakatan is the custodian of nepotism and term limitless as well as continuation of apartheid. The Dayaks do not need a ‘custodian’, custodianship implies a lack of mental capacity. Do the Dayaks see what an insult Pakatan has offered up to them? The Dayaks will demand equal representation and full 100% disbursement of profits from East Malaysia as well as return of all stolen lands – not this so-called ‘custodianship’. Dayaks in fact could secede and demand a seat at the UN instead of ‘custodianship’. Wake up Dayaks, simply because when someone pretends to talk to you like an adult, that does not mean they respect you or will grant you rights as an equal or allow you the autonomy of an adult – thats like an ADULT ‘pet animal’ being trapped in that cage forever EVEN when adult when their natural preference is to roam the world or set up their own habitates without bars and feeding times or what not . . .

, the Dayaks need to think clearly and fight back against condescension – the contents of the words are those for a child, or in this case mentally inept! Demand equality or leave the Malaysian Federation to form your own nation with a seat at the UN if either caolition BN or PR does not promise via statuary declaration to grant :

;as well as return ALL stolen and illegally occupied lands as well as 100% disbursement right to ALL wealth from East Malaysia as well as 1st class citizenships. Perhaps after the stupid and shameless or selfish Chinese Malaysian voters and politicians see this action by the Orang Asli will APARTHEID of BUMIPUTERA end.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28, 2012): Once the Strata Management Bill 2012 is enacted, the management of a gated community can apply for a court order to seize and auction the property of a delinquent house owner to offset management fee owed.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung told Sin Chew Daily in an interview published today that this is because house owners were fully aware when they purchased their property that they had to pay monthly management fee for security service rendered.

This rule also applies to gated apartments and condominiums.

The Strata Management Act 2012 (SMA) is to replace the Building and Common Property Act 2007.

Chor said in fact the Building and Common Property Act 2007 empowers the management of a gated community to take the aforesaid action against delinquent property owners, but many people are not aware of this as it is not clearly defined in the act.

He said he had spent a lot of time and talked to not less than 20 related organisations on this matter to come up with the new act
(SMA).

However, he said, the government cannot do anything if house owners in guarded communities refuse to pay for guards hired to watch over and patrol their areas, as it is not stated in the owners’ sale-and-purchase agreement.

Chor also said that under the SMA, residents of a housing area need only obtain the consent of 51% of the residents to set up a guarded community, compared with 80% under the present law.

“Residents who hire guards to beef up security in a housing estate do it on their free will and out of their own pockets. If the other 49% of the residents believe the housing area is safe, and that they need not pay for additional security, they cannot be forced to do so,” said Chor.

He pointed out that roads within a gated community are private property, and therefore residents within the community have the right to deny access to non-residents.

“On the other hand, roads within a guarded community are public property. The security guards have no right to deny non-residents access to the area.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This is idiotic and democracy destroying. Beware? Which MPs ratified the act? Which people drafted the act? These 20 organisations who proposed or back these abusive laws are a plague upon the ‘conscientious objectors’ of the gated community! Just because some people want guards does not mean others should pay and backed by government as well! The man’s home is their castle but a group of men with castles unless intending to be thugs or warlords cannot STEAL already paid for ownership because others living around them intend to force them to pay for extraneous services that they do not want. The Housing Minister in fact should act to disallow such laws not implement and announce the same.

This empowers the management of the gated community, or even the Resident’s Committee to unprecedented levels in society, into that of local gangsters, and actual gangsters do not even have power to sell off people’s property! This is like Japan selling China’s Diaoyu Islands! Who paid for the unit? The management, so-called Resident’s Committee or the owner? If the mob mentality of the rest of the residents and colluders want the security, that’s their business and they cannot be penalized for living in the area. Those who do not want to be controlled by the doubtless political party backed so-called managment of gated communities however have every right to refuse to pay. This is blatant legalist bullying legalized gangsterism almost, and cannot be allowed, a feudal mentality of anything. Taking away people’s homes simply for refusing to pay for guards is UN unendorsable in law. Absolutely uncivilised and uneducated. No lawyers on this as usual eh? Bunch of legal lap-dogs that UN has somehow seen fit to award . . .

The Rakyat had better understand the ramifications of such a law that allows a mere management company or group of mob minded residents to sell property that does not belong to them! Vote out the MPs who began this disaster against democracy! The incidental beneficiary of guards cannot legally be beholden to relinquish 100s of 1000s even millions worth properties because the laws make no sense o r are written with collusion in mind. Vote for 3rd force!

This is also another reason why hi-rise and now gated community units are a serious problem especially with law makers like these. The grey area autonomy issues in common spaces end up being abused in this manner which would doubtless be employed against political opponents of any politicians who are inclined to bing term limitless (meaning ganglord type satrapies withuot term limits), and amounts to protection rackets! So for example a handful of people try to pull a fast one in collusion with as many as possible that they want ‘guards’ (doubtless relatives or cronies with aging parents in the security field) and effectively force everyone else to pay up or their unit will be sold off (by all common sense considerations this is unconstitutional) . . . THEN consider if ethnicity is brought into consideration as well! Structural abuse of civilian rights backed by bad laws!

One can imagine the destruction of the sense of nation further and worsening of management gangs or property developers with this sort of mentality (identify which property developers or land bank owners that write up or assent to such abusive powers and you will identify the 1% in Malaysia that will never allow Allodial Titles and keep raising quit rents and maintenance fees AND NOW with new abusive powers to take away entire life savings worth of properties that the courts also back – all for not paying guards that are their cronies and aging relatives?! Wake up voters! Vote for 3rd Force! Kongsi Ho? More like Boho!

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28, 2012): Drug rehabilitation organisation Pengasih Malaysia today urged the attorney-general to penalise the abuse of kratom (ketum) leaves under the Dangerous Drugs Act instead of the Poisons Act, and also to regard glue-sniffing under the former law as well.

Pengasih president Datuk Mohd Yunus Pathi said this was necessary to check the abuse of kratom leaves, which were addictive, especially if mixed with certain items.

He said a study by Pengasih found that some adults in their 40s consumed a kratom extract mixed with coffee or other drinks to boost their energy.

“Taking a kratom drink on a regular basis will have an adverse effect on the health of the consumer,” he told reporters at Rumah Pengasih, here.

Mohd Yunus also regarded the sniffing of glue as a serious problem.

“There is no specific law on sniffing glue, although the practice can cause brain damage and lead to crime and social ills,” he said.

He proposed that the aftercare programme for former drug addicts be reviewed as certain aspects were seen as obstacles for them to lead a normal life. – Bernama

Ridiculous and condescending. Coffee, Sugar and Milk can also be abused. Try over drinking too much of these everyday drinks/condiments and possibly become very ill. Kratom is also liable to be abused in the same manner or could be taken in moderation as well. ‘. ‘God’ gave man the right to the world and the food and plants on the world. Government is but a group of men. Which group of men have a a right to tell another group what they can or cannot do? Where are those Organics Psychedelics Zones for much like the ones in Amsterdam? Illegal and rare makes for high profit and high fines . . . for victimless crimes? Undemocratic.

GEORGE TOWN (Oct 26, 2012) : Veteran lawmaker Karpal Singh has called on party representatives who hold both parliamentary and state seats to declare that they will only contest one seat in the next general election.

He said that during one of the party’s central executive committee (CEC) meetings, the committee had agreed by consensus that a candidate should only hold two seats in “exceptional” cases.

” I had suggested that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should be considered an exception, ” he said at a press conference in Farlim market earlier today.

Karpal said that at present the party has nine representatives holding two seats – three in Penang, two in Perak, one each in Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuching and Sibu.

The three who are holding two seats in Penang are Lim, state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow and Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

Lim is currently Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman, Chow is Tanjong MP and Padang Kota assemblyman while Ramasamy is the Batu Kawan MP and Prai assemblyman.

Karpal, who is also DAP national chairman said it was up to the CEC to decide which seat the candidate should give up.

He added that there should not be any difficulties in surrendering seats as the DAP was no longer short of candidates.

Chow was recently quoted as saying that the party would allow its candidates to concurrently contest two seats if the situation calls for it.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

After a slew of DAP failures and 90% failed campaign promises as well as a scores of abusive run ins with the local traders and residents over refusals to amend laws, 1 SINGLE move towards best practices in democracy (outweighed by dozens of worst practices) will not make a difference to the voters aware of the undemocratic rubbish DAP now is. Karpal being such a veteran politician should know that this single action cannot change the minds of the educated voters at all because democracy is only for DAP members and no other Rakyat at all. DAP is such a hateful political party, term limitless and nepotistic to boot! Again I post what the voters need to know :

NEPOTISM IN PAKATAN RAKYAT Three of the family blocs below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Lim Kit Siang (MP Ipoh Timur – Perak)

Lim Guan Eng (MP Air Puteh – Penang)

Chew Gek Cheng (Assemblyman Kota Laksamana – Malacca) Guan Eng’s wife

Lim Hui Ying Guan Eng’s sister (Vice-Chairman)

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Karpal Singh (MP Jelutong – Penang)

Gobind Singh (MP Puchong – Selangor) Karpal’s son

Jagdeep Singh (Asssemblyman Dato Keramat – Penang) Karpal’s son

Two of the below must be challenged so that only a single candidate without relatives remains :

Anwar Ibrahim (MP Permatang Pauh, Seberang Prai)

Wan Azizah

Nurul Izzah Anwar(MP Lembah Pantai – Kuala Lumpur)

Anwar’s Daughter Also either Ngeh (Pantai Remis) or Nga (Sitiawan) must go to prevent 2nd degree nepotism and the kind of environment that caused DAP’s Kulasegaran, PKR’s Gobalakrishnan, to be kicked out possibly an act of racism but more likely at the order of the Lim Dynasty clique. BN of course we do not need to discuss, blocs of relatives galore.

MCA, MIC, Gerakan are also littered with nepotism – political parties are not family clan associations (family clan associations being unpopular enough already due to the same politicking as well whu=ich drives same named families away from the same structures . . . ).

HRP might very well be aware of some things we are not aware of to list some surprising choices as well, do not discount their reasons. PSM’s Jeyakumar appears to have been bought by BN though, so their viability is uncertain until PSM’s clique leadership changes. I have done some probing and casual calls to PSM, they are not very grassroots and quite a clique based outfit very suspicious of outsiders.

DAP of course (also tried earlier) is far worse and absolutely TREACHEROUS and clique based and beholden to SINGAPORE’s PAP. I would not be surprised if the nepotists in DAP are rounded up a 2nd time, for collusions with Singapore to subvert Malaysian Federal authority instead amongst other things like ‘neurotech abuse’.

Everyone else, should meanwhile stand as independents in any constituency with bad assemblymen or MPs or people who do not endorse term limits and asset declarations. Here’s something that will help voters decide if candidacy is not their thing or too expensive :

Barisan – Apartheid, Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs

Pakatan – Corrupt and Nepotistic-Oligarchs (excepting PAS)

3rd Force – Corrupt Only

Independents – any citizen can be an independent, think you are not a plutocrat (worth less than 20 million), will respect term limits and not write 750K/120K funeral laws in favour of yourself? Not racist? Then run for election! The world needs you! Here’s something that will help voters decide if candidacy is not their thing or too expensive : Pick the coalition with the least flaws.

BN = 90% Apartheid, 90% Nepotism, 90% Corrupt

PR = 50% Nepotism, 50% Corrupt

3rd Force = 0% Nepotism, 0% Corruption

Pick the coalition with the least flaws. End the APARTHEID ! Destroy the Oligarchs in all political coalitions ! 3rd Force is best. Beware voters, as mentioned many times before, it could be critical that Selangor and Penang MUST be controlled by neutral parties neither BN nor PR dominated, and East Malaysia controlled by local East Malaysian political parties ONLY (not Peninsular Coalitions like BN or PR), with the remainded left for Pakatan Rakyat, OTHERWISE Pakatan Rakyat with its burgeoning nepotists and oligarchs will become a second BN. Vote 3rd Force!

ARTICLE 11

Berjaya Land plans RM9.92bil casino and mall on Jeju Island – by TEE LIN SAY – linsay@thestar.com.my | Nov 2, 2012Ng: Jeju Resort will create some 4,000 jobsJEJU ISLAND: Berjaya Land Bhd’s (BLand) US$3.2bil (RM9.92bil) Berjaya Jeju Resort will feature the biggest casino and shopping mall in South Korea, along with condominiums, villas, hotels and a landmark building once it is completed.The first phase to be launched will be its 51 villas and 96 “market walk” units with a gross development value of US$250mil, with prices starting from US$1,000 (RM3,300) per sq ft.BLand chief executive officer Datuk Francis Ng is confident of generating 25% return from Phase 1 alone.“In South Korea, we can only start selling the units once we have done 20% of construction works. We should be able to start selling in three to four months. However, our pre-marketing is already starting,” he said.Ng said this at the opening ceremony of BLand’s property gallery here.He added that for the moment, Phase 1 would be fully funded by internal funds, although some financiers had expressed interest to provide loans. The entire Phase 1 should be completed in 26 months.Right now, Jeju Island has the support of the Central Government of South Korea to transform the area into an international tourist destination, matching the likes of Hong Kong and Singapore.BLand’s wholly owned subsidiary Berjaya Leisure (Cayman) Ltd has a 72.6% stake in the project, while Jeju Free International City Development Centre has a 19% stake and Swan Street Partner LLP holds the remaining 8.4%.Ng said the Jeju Resort, which has one kilometre coastline, would create some 4,000 jobs and would help provide more hotel accommodations currently not available on the resort island.“We will have some three hotels in our resort. Right now, we are in talks with Ritz Carlton to be our partner for one of our hotels,” he said.Since venturing into the project in 2008, BLand has pumped in some US$100mil (RM310mil) on the infrastructure works itself. It bought the 75-acre freehold land for US$62mil (RM192.2mil) or US$8 (RM24.80) per sq ft.Currently, buyers who buy properties worth US$500,000 and above in Jeju Island will be entitled to permanent residency in the resort island.On the casino front, Ng said the group was not in a hurry to proceed with the development as presently, the South Korean government had yet to issue domestic casino licences.The local government of Jeju Island is in talks with the Central Government of South Korea to review the liberalisation of this domestic casino licence. Jeju Island is a self governing province in South Korea.Meanwhile, for the shopping mall component, BLand intends to develop it on its own and look for a local partner.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

We don’t NEED another tycoon and another stupid money laundering purposes and inaccessible super casino in ANOTHER country. We want 4D outlets to offer casino games in our street corners. We want casino billionaires to change the law to ensure the rights of non-Muslims to gamble be not interfered with in the above suggestions! Preferably monopoly free and non-relative franchise related!

In their joint research, Universiti Malaya (UM) senior lecturer in development studies Dr Lee Hwok Aun and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) research fellow Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid found that fresh Chinese graduates are more likely to be called for a job interview based on their resumes compared to Malays.

“Our findings suggest that employers are generally predisposed favourably towards Chinese, substantially due to compatibility factors and unobservable qualities not revealed in job applications, and are more selective towards Malays, which results in fewer but considerably qualified applicants getting callbacks,” the duo stated in an abstract of their seminar paper being presented at UM today.

The two academics said they had conducted a field experiment by sending made-up resumes of fresh Malay and Chinese graduates to real job advertisements.

From their research, Lee and Muhammed Abdul found that while both Malay and Chinese graduates who listed Chinese-language proficiency and stated that they graduated from a certain university were likely to increase their chances to be called for an interview, yet employers — especially those that were Chinese-controlled or foreign-run — were significantly inclined to pick the Chinese applicant.

They noted that the racial discrimination was sharper in engineering jobs than in the accounting or finance sector.

They also found that in the engineering industry, Malays were most likely to be rejected by foreign-controlled companies, followed by Malay-controlled companies and lastly Chinese-controlled firms.

However, they said their data does not directly show the motif of the racial discrimination in the hiring process based on the experiment they had conducted.

Lee and Muhammed Abdul are presenting their paper, titled “Does race matter in getting an interview? A field experiment of hiring discrimination in Peninsular Malaysia”, at UM’s Economics and Administration Faculty at 10am.

Malaysia’s mushrooming local higher education institutions churned out a total 184,581 graduates last year, according to the latest statistics released on the Higher Education Ministry’s website. Of that figure, 44,391 people or 24 per cent are unemployed. The Najib administration has set aside some RM500 million in its Budget 2013 to spend on jobless youths to make them marketable.

…
written by @GetReal, November 02, 2012 20:43:29
There are very poor grounds for the survey to be meaningful. The survey is carried out in a country which practise institutionalised discrimmination. Admission to Government universities are on race base quotas and not merit. Standards have been lowered to accommodate students who were admitted on the basis of the quota. None Malay students are the creme de la creme and have to work hard to justify their father’s scholarship. So we expect vastly different standards in the graduates. The private universities probably produce better graduates as they have genuinely better qualified lecturers. I met a none Malay electronics engineer who helps to design programmable computer chips.. He is paid an annual salary of Rgt.500,000 He says some lecturers in the local Government Uni have a problem understanding his lectures! Race based quota is the cause of race based discrimination.

…
written by @upsidedown119, November 02, 2012 20:35:33
written by Imprimatur: As an employer in Malaysia, and a foreigner to boot, I have observed middle management with very obvious preferences based not so much on race but on the perceived values that each race allegedly has…….If I had to jump on the racist bandwagon that seems so popular here, I would actually say that the attitude displayed by people like mvinside makes a good case against hiring Chinese employees … nothing worse than staff filled with pride at their race’s perceived strengths and having little else to offer.

Base on the obvious bias in your comment, it’s not hard to conclude that either you or your company is the sub-contractor of a UMNO-BN crony contractor or the manager of a crony company itself. Your comments runs counter to my own observations many members of top management, including of public-listed companies!

But if you are the beneficiary of a UMNO-BN crony contract, then the ‘buta gaji’ for those extraneous engineers are already provided for in the inflated contract price! If not, you are likely to go bankrupt.

…
written by @EU, November 02, 2012 20:18:23
Why don’t you do a survey on the private malay companies? They almost employed 100% malays, unlike the chinese companies. And from experience, even if two resumes are the same, I can tell you, the chinese can speak better English than the malays because the malays will always answer back in B.M. They refused to speak other languages. Also I know that the malay ladies also will go to prayer room in the afternoon. Friday, Malay guys will be allowed to go to mosques. Employers are looking for profitability. Chinese only takes little time for lunch and work overtime too. Employers are also very wary of dismissing a malay staff even if he or she is not performing. So, the private sectors more likely to call in chinese for interview because they believe their qualifications are real. It is a matter of trust and through experience.

…
written by @Jimmy Lim, November 02, 2012 19:23:18
What a lot of crap. Bias n racist study. What about GLC n Govt where 99% are malays?

…
written by @EU, November 02, 2012 11:51:37
I don’t believe this report. How is it my former china man company employs more malays than chinese. And in my department, out of 15 employees, only 2 are chinese. If the public sectors do not employ chinese and private sectors also will not employ chinese, then, where would the Chinese go. Are they satisfy only when the chinese have no jobs and become beggars. This kind of report is not helpful at all. It only stirred up the races. It is only logical that since more malays are employed in the public sectors, they are less likely to go for the private companies that offer no pensions on retiring. Whereas, there will be more chinese applying for private jobs since they cannot get into the public sectors.

…
written by @Kiwi, November 02, 2012 18:23:40
Actually the comments are more interesting than the article. What they reveal is why as an outsider I look at Malaysia and shake my head and what bigots so many of you are.

About half the commenters argue that discrimination like this does occur, but it’s justified because Chinese are hardworking/ smarter etc. You ignore that the resumes were identical but only the race was different. But you think that discrimination is acceptable because your stereotype of Malays in general is that they are lazy/ poor workers etc. Well my friends that is the precise definition of racism. You have two identical candidates and you make a judgement that one is inferior to another based on his or her race.
The other half of commenters say that this is discrimination but it’s ok because the Government sector discriminates against non Malays. So two wrongs make a right. Then you go on to suggest that Chinese employers only started discriminating against Malays because of the NEP. Yet you are ignorant of history. The Tunku back in the sixties was speaking with the Australian ambassador from his office in KL. He pointed across the shop lots below and said (I paraphrase) how many of these businesses owned by Chinese will employ a Malay worker – almost none.[[[ *** Response to Comment by @Kiwi *** ]]] So Malay Special Privileges were applied for 15 years after which they were to be reviewed for ending, UMNO did not review. Social Contract broken, the Chinese retaliated. So the reality is that the NEP misused as it may have become was a result of Chinese racism in employment not the cause of it. Want further evidence? Walk through a shopping centre in Australia or NZ and look at the businesses owned by Chinese. How many non-Chinese do they employ? None. Is that the fault of the NEP too?[[[ *** Response to Comment *** ]]] Chinese in Australia has nothing to do with race, but religious habits impacting upon the secular/commercial sphere. Muslims are too religious to do business well (many Malays are forced to be Muslims or lose bumi privileges – or are Muslims by habit if not sometimes violent inculpation by sick minded authoritarian parents – because of the abuse and shame in the childhood coercion to abide religion cases, Muslims are quite closed as a society by necessity and have many inane(insane?) religious rules that impinge on secular society such as loud prayers 5 times daily, Friday halfdays (thats 2 halfdays a 7 day week), MANY Holy days which MUST be holidays that the employer has to bear the brunt of, avoiding pork and alcohol which is served everywhere etc..) with the larger community, so Muslims will always attract less secular customers and employers, which is what Australia and even Malaysia mainly is, secular. Don’t try to create problems by fingering the Chinese when the issue is religious preference caused by the Malays themselves …
written by Babu, November 02, 2012 11:53:48
Have they done the studies in government related jobs? Like the public office, etc? We are not blind you know? I don’t know why the Chinese have to be made like it is something wrong with them for being better, faster or knowledgable. Probably they are good at adapting to the economic environment.Maybe if you put Chinese in the jungle they would be dead in 2 days compared to the native people. It’s all about adaptation to the environment. If your culture blocks your advancement, don’t blame it on the chinese or anyone else. The Chinese have more reasons to blame the NEP and lopsided affirmative actions when it comes to retarding their advancement.

ARTICLE 13

Al-Arqam’s shadow cabinet uncovered – by HARIZ MOHD | news@nst.com.my 2 commentsKhatijah Am, known to her followers as Ummu Jah, had been living in self-imposed exile in Mecca for the past few years.KUALA LUMPUR: THE banned Al-Arqam movement, 41 ministries, including for souls, death, ritual sex, led by the founder’s wife, Khatijah Am, is said to have formed a “shadow cabinet” with 41 ministries, including the ministry of the netherworld (kementerian alam ghaib).This was part of its plot to overthrow the government and form an Islamic state, according to information compiled by intelligence agencies.Also listed in its shadow cabinet were the ministries of true souls and sects (roh suci dan tariqat), death and the hereafter (kematian dan akhirat) and family and holy sex (keluarga dan seks suci).Intelligence sources said Khatijah, who is the widow of Ashaari Muhammad and has been living in Mecca after his death, had been holding monthly meetings with “top leaders” of the sect in Malaysia via video conferencing.A source said 54 meetings, dubbed “roh parlimen” (soul parliament) by Khatijah, had been held so far.In their “parliamentary meetings”, which had begun in May 2010, Khatijah had assumed the position as their “prime minister”.”To ensure that Al-Arqam leaders and followers stayed with the movement and follow her orders, Khatijah claimed she received direct orders from her late husband,” a source said.

“She had been involved in running the movement even when Ashaari was still alive. Ashaari suffered a mild stroke in 2005.”

The source added that Khatijah, known to followers as Ummu Jah, had been living in self-imposed exile in Mecca for the past few years.

The group, the source said, had received funding from more than 30 welfare homes in Malaysia run by their proxies.

Some homes run by key personnel in Al-Arqam were registered with the Welfare Department and received government funding.

“These welfare homes received donations, not only from the government, but private companies and unsuspecting individuals as well,” said the source.

“From our intelligence reports, only a small portion of the donations received were used for the homes while the remaining went to Khatijah’s accounts,” the source said, adding that Khatijah lived lavishly in a mansion rented for 340,000 riyal (RM276,000) a year.

The mansion, called RSA Palace, has a conference room, an elevator, gymnasium, sauna and a swimming pool. The source said the movement collected an average of RM800,000 in donations every month.

Meanwhile, Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said they were collecting evidence on the group’s activities.

“We found that the group, through its company, still continues with its deviant teachings. All the claims that Ashaari is Imam Mahdi and Ummu Jah can communicate with her late husband are blatant lies.

“We hope those with information on their activities will come forward to assist in our investigations.”

Al-Arqam was decreed a deviant sect in 1994 by the National Fatwa Council after it was found to have practised Aurad Muhammadiah teachings which was described as misleading Muslims from the true Islamic beliefs.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Al-Arqam is peaceful in the legal physical sense but in the spiritual sense doing much illegal thought via spiritual methods. Ethics also require that the spiritual state of people need to be allowed autonomy. Al-Arqam’s manipulation is much like Malaysian Syariah laws that effectively force Malays via ‘Bumiputra Privilege Removal’ threats to keep Muslims in Islam, or disallow choice to young children in Muslim families to choose their faith.

This is the abuse fostered by Islam that offends the Western and modern world so much, that makes countries like Malaysia into pariahs among nations. Don’t even get into what the worst of the Middle East does to their people. Religion is a tool of control nothing else when applied in this manner. Were children allowed to choose, Islam could well disappear from the planet in as soon as 1 generation. The only way to keep Islam alive is with violence and forced inculpation or bribery with material ‘Islamist’ benefits like in Malaysia’s biased and minority disenfranchising, Malay only – ethnicity based discriminating Bumiputra Apartheid system. If Muslims only seek the afterlife, then why is the entire faith is fillled with money grubbing infidels who care not for the suffering of their fellow Muslims, much less fellow men, what with the extreme wealth some Muslims have and the corruption and lack of ethics everywhere else.

ARTICLE 14

WHY ANWAR IBRAHIM? Time to end race-based politics in Malaysia Featured – written by John Lee M K – Tuesday, 02 October 2012 13:41

It ignores a simple reality: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has already made history by being the first Malay politician to ever actually win more political support through an explicitly non-racial platform. It is practically impossible to underestimate how Anwar bucked the trend; he has completely turned our understanding of politics in this country on its head.

History has already made it crystal-clear; Malay politicians who try to unite the country by appealing to a common sense of Malaysian-ness inevitably wind up heading into political oblivion. Dato Onn Ja’afar’s political career went up in flames the moment he founded the first multiracial political party in the country, in spite of it having every conceivable advantage – it was literally the incumbent party of the time because of Onn’s towering status in Malayan politics. And it, of course, foundered completely.

Since then nobody has even tried to unite the Malays as Malaysians. Unite the Malays as Malays, of course; Syed Jaafar Albar famously proclaimed in the 1960s that he was a Malay first and a Malaysian second. Syed Hussein Alatas made an admirable attempt to change Malaysian politics through Gerakan, and we all know how that turned out. Literally every Malay leader who has tried to be Malaysian first ever since has risked being branded as a sell-out, a puppet of the non-Malays and a stooge of Lee Kuan Yew.

The one exception was Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who experienced some brief success with his Bangsa Malaysia idea. This only makes sense, considering Dr Mahathir’s iron-fisted handling of anyone who dared to oppose him; it is thus a pity that he never took this policy beyond mere words.

The moment Dr Mahathir handed over the reins to his successor, Malay politicians were up in arms criticising Bangsa Malaysia as a ‘nebulous’ and untenable concept for daring to acknowledge that the non-Malays have a place in this country too.

Brave enough to dump ketuanan Melayu

So here we are today: 51 years after independence, the easiest way to tar a Malay politician next to calling him a Jew-lover is to accuse him of saying this country belongs to the Chinese and Indians too. That is simply how Malaysian politics works; to win the support of the Malays, you need to denounce the non-Malays as foreign squatters, who are only here as a matter of privilege rather than right, a privilege revocable at any time.

And what a coincidence it is – that is exactly how the Malaysian government works too. If you’re not an Indonesian who can be counted as a Malay, your application for permanent residency or citizenship can never hope to see the light of day. If you’re not a Malay, you can expect to hear your fair share of racist remarks in a public national school – and not from students, mind you, but teachers.

As a student you can expect a syllabus which teaches you about the meaning of ketuanan Melayu rather than bangsa Malaysia. As an employee you can expect a civil service where you’re not welcome unless they need you to fulfil their minuscule quota of non-Malay recruits. As an entrepreneur you can expect a government – and many government-linked companies – which will not give you any business unless you are a Malay. Half a century after independence, and that’s what 40% of this country has to look forward to.

And since this is how the government works, up-and-coming politicians and political activists realise this is how politics works too. That is why even though you will never hear the typical Malaysian voicing such sentiments, political activists will readily denounce the non-Malays as foreign squatters here at the behest of a social contract which gives them the privilege, not right, to stay and live here.

Since this is how politics and government have worked since time immemorial, we owe Anwar an incredible debt for nearly single-handedly turning all this – everything – completely on its head.

‘Anak Melayu, anak saya. Anak Cina, anak saya. Anak India, anak saya’

For the past half century, to be a good Malay leader, you have either had to publicly proclaim your support for ketuanan Melayu – and not the mild ketuanan as in strong leadership, but ketuanan as in ‘blood will run in the streets if our demands are not met’ – or you have had to simply avoid commenting on the issue and just hope you can be all things to all people.

Anwar ran on a platform, not of vague meaningless nice-sounding platitudes, but a platform explicitly against everything ketuanan Melayu stands for.

This is a man, mind you, who celebrated the end of his ban on active politics by damning ketuanan Melayu and consigning it to the dust heap of history. This is a man who has publicly and repeatedly proclaimed that his commitment is to the sovereignty of the people – ketuanan rakyat – rather than the dominance of the Malays.

This is a man who has never wavered from his stand that the philosophy of government assistance based on racial origin, rather than economic status, is fundamentally and morally wrong. This is a man who has repeatedly, wherever he goes, whoever he speaks to, driven home the same point, again and again: ‘Anak Melayu, anak saya. Anak Cina, anak saya. Anak India, anak saya.’

And this is a man who has had everything in the traditional playbook of Malaysian politics thrown at him. He’s been labelled a heretic, a sodomite, a liar, a hypocrite, a traitor willing to sell the Malays and Malaysians out at a moment’s notice. The ruling coalition has done everything in their power to make it known far and wide that this is a man committed to non-racialism; committed to a Malaysia where everyone belongs.

Regardless of whether you think he deserves it, or if he was just lucky, credit is due to Anwar: where so many brave Malay leaders have fallen and failed, he has won an incredible victory. Onn Ja’afar was vilified simply for opening up his political party to Malayans of all creeds and colours; Anwar has gone above and beyond, explicitly declaring that this is a country for all Malaysians, whoever they might be. And he has won a resounding victory.

Broke new frontiers

It would be one thing if he scraped through with a majority of less than 5,000 votes in the recent by-election, but the fact is, it was not even close – not with a landslide majority of 15,000, larger even than the majority his wife won before he explicitly condemned ketuanan Melayu. Anwar has succeeded where everyone else has failed; he has carved out a broad base of political support, not on a platform of rights or privileges for one community, but a platform of justice and equality of opportunity for all communities.

Criticise Anwar all you like for his inconsistent and wishy-washy stands on other issues. Criticise his coalition for its internal dissension and strange hypocrisy all you want. You can even say you have no intention of trusting a man who might just stab you in the back the moment he gains power.

The fact of the matter is, you do not have a choice between Anwar and your ideal, committed, consistent, sincere Malaysian leader. Your choice, in the here and now, is between Anwar and a regime built on racism, built on stoking the flames of mistrust and hatred. This regime of hatred has delivered its promise of ketuanan Melayu; why should we expect things to be any worse under a regime promising ketuanan rakyat?

At the worst, it’s the same old shit under a different government; at best, we might finally have a government and a political system which works for all Malaysians rather than whoever yells the loudest and threatens the most blood.

Making the Malaysian dream a reality

As far as taking power is concerned, this is still a long shot. Anwar may yet turn out to be a flop on delivering if he ever gets the chance to govern. But the simple and stark reality is, as far as we who live in the present are concerned, he is our best and only chance to put a stop to this insanity.

Anwar is not the perfect vessel for uniting the country, but there is a reason he scares the powers that be: he is the first real chance we have ever had to unite the country against the demons of racialism and parochialism. And for now, he is our only chance. He is the only one who can cross ethnic barriers to proclaim a commitment to a Malaysia where Malaysians, not Malays, are sovereign, and actually win more support than before.

I am no huge fan of Anwar, but I recognise what he has done, and how far he has come. I support him, not because I like him as a person, but because I believe in the cause he champions, and because I believe that if there is any person in this country who can make that dream a reality, it is Anwar Ibrahim.

MAILBAG

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Lies. 90% of campaign promises failed by RPK’s reports PKR had 8% quorums for Anwar’s PKR Presidency. Anwar has never mentioned in any clear certain terms (as in the below 3 items) ending apartheid of bumiputra and even has tolerated PAS and DAP’s attempts to implement Hudud. John ‘Chattering Classes’ Lee has been unthinkingly a PKR supporter too long :

In the past 24 hours, two DAP MPs have broken ranks and swung their support for 3rd Force’s call for the immediate suspension of the DAP for ‘campaign promise failure’ offences, pending full study of various public interest issues related to its implementation.

The first to do so is the 3rd Force Youth leader and MP who, after a meeting of the 3rd Force Youth executive council yesterday, called for the government ROS to suspend DAP as a review of the system was necessary to rectify democratic weaknesses in DAP. Today, a 3rd Force MP for Sabah, who is also Deputy Chairman of 3rd Force Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) also crossed the political divide to back the BN call for suspension of DAP.

The BARISAN state governments have already given approval for the suspension of DAP until conclusion of full study and a proper consultation process with all the relevant stakeholders.

Put public good above all

The question now is whether there is any DAP MP, Deputy Minister or Minister who dare to break ranks to call for immediate suspension of DAP to produce the first fruit of DAP’s two-year-old “failed campaign promises” or whether all the boasts of “campaign promises” are just bunkum.

Since the DAP Supremo, Lim Kit Siang has refused to listen to the legitimate concerns about the keeping of canpaign promises, I call on all 3rd Force MPs, whether Minister, Deputy Minister or ordinary backbencher; or other 3rd Force component parties; whether from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, to follow the example of 3rd Forcers to support the call for the immediate suspension of Pakatan Rakyat for failure to decxlare assets as promised, failure to implement Local Council Elections and other abuses of democratic processes.

MPs from both 3rd Force and BN can effect an immediate suspension of the Pakatan Rakyat by adopting a common position during the committee stage of the 2013 Budget debate on the Transport Ministry on 20th November 2012.

3rd Force has 25 political parties and if there are at least another 36 MPs from Barisan Nasional and Independents who support the suspension of the Pakatan Rakyat to make a total of a parliamentary majority, then Lim Kit Siang would have no choice but to resign as MP of Bandar Melaka and all posts in the DAP Committee and Pakatan Supreme Council as per democratic requirments and limits on terms, if Lim Kit Siang refuses to heed the voice of the majority of MPs to immediately drop all MPs who have family blocs and have breached term limit prohibitions.

While 3rd Force is against the implementation of the AES system alongside Pakatan Rakyat, the severe failure and shamelessly undemocratic, nepotistic and term limitless culture of DAP is unacceptable.

AES implementation has been suspended in Pakatan Rakyat controlled states for now.

ARTICLE 16

Demoguery? People slip in their postings. RPK slips far more often IMHO . . .

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not all Chinese are interested in power for power’s sake, rather Chinese need the power to ensure Democracy as in the below 3 items, and also to prevent Hudud by weak minded seemingly insane Dhimmifiers of the world which UMNO is and UMNO having continued apatheid in Malaysia against minorities like the Chinese necessitates – THIS IS WHY the Chinese want to kick out the Malay Umno government NOT greed and lust (for money or as the poorly applied NLP indicates – sexuality which we all know RPK has issues about in the LGBT area, even though none are forcing their will on RPK . . . ) :

RPK should not display this lack of ability to differentiate between the types of Chinese who hold types of mindsets, and not just lump all Chinese into a single group – i.e. Lustful and Greedy. The Chinese? the entire Malay race is probably mixed-half-chinese/half-Orang Asli and RPK isn’t even truly ‘Malay’ anymore . . . stop ethnic profiling, and start reading the Human Rights Charter. Say with me . . . H-U-M-A-N- this is more difficult than teaching an Orang Utan to smoke or wear a monkey-suit. Lazy or senile? Or human rights unaware? Maybe all 3. Whats wrong with you RPK? RPK is getting less and less viable to challenge as an MP despite the finances and networks . . .

SINCE George Town received Unesco World Heritage Site (WHS) status in 2008, over RM46.3mil has been allocated to restoration work in four major heritage projects.

The most well-known of these heritage properties restored are the Choong Lye Hock mansion and the Loke Thye Kee building.

The other two restoration projects are by Asian Global Business (AGB) and Public Packages Holdings Bhd involving commercial offices and warehouses built in the early 20th century at Weld Quay and Church Street Ghaut.

The AGB Group is restoring two early 20th century commercial and warehouse properties to be an integrated RM220mil Rice Miller Hotel and Residences, which is an in-fill development project.

An in-fill development involves constructing a project from scratch.

The cost of restoring a heritage project depends on the quality of finishing used and normally ranges between RM300 and RM400 per sq ft.

Sometimes a company spends more for restoration because of the condition and age of the property.

A prime heritage property in George Town can fetch rental of between RM5 and RM10 per sq ft, which means that a 2,000 sq ft heritage property strategically located can generate a rental of RM10,000 to RM20,000 a month, according to Henry Butcher Malaysia (Penang) vice-president Shawn Ong.

The Choong Lye Hock mansion restoration project, located on 48,943 sq ft at Macalister Road, was undertaken by local businessman Datuk Sean H’ng and his wife Datin Karen H’ng.

The Choong Lye Hock mansion belonged to a tycoon and philanthropist, who bought the property in the late-1890s.

Lye Hock is the father of local millionaire Ch’ng Eng Hye and the grandfather of badminton legend Datuk Eddy Choong.

The restored building, now known as Macalister Mansion (MM), has eight hotel rooms, two restaurants called The Dining Room and The Living Room, and two bars called the Bagan Bar and The Den.

Macalister Mansion opened its doors to the public in April 2012.

According to MM public relations director Josephine Leong, the planning and the restoration work for the 17,286 sq ft mansion took about 20 months.

“This is corporate responsibility initiative project to demonstrate that old colonial buildings can be regenerated into useful and practical spaces with a contemporary feel.

“It took us 12 months to restore and reinforce the original columns, staircases and archways, original brick walls and wall cornices.

Leong says the Macalister Mansion project was more about a labour of love.

“The owners want to raise the bar in the boutique hotel scene in Penang. As global travellers, they would like to bring back that differentiated hotel experience where guests get to enjoy a more personalised and intimate level of service within luxurious surroundings,” Leong adds.

Raine & Horne Malaysia director Michael Geh says about RM2mil or about RM630 per sq ft was spent on restoring Loke Thye Kee, known as the oldest restaurant in Penang, at Burmah Road.

According to Geh, a local investment company, Loke Thye Kee.com, set up by Singaporean investors, bought the double-storey property from a local businessman some about six years ago.

“About two years, which included also the time to obtain the green light from the local authorities for renovation, was spent on restoring the building with approximately 3,200sq ft of built-up area.

“It has been leased to a local company called Food People Sdn Bhd, which plans to set up soon a Hainanese restaurant, and food and beverage outlets,” he says.

Known as the House of Happiness in Hainanese, the Loke Thye Kee restaurant was established by brothers Loy Kok Boon and Loy Kok Dai, who leased the building from local businessman and philanthropist Khoo Sian Ewe.

AGB Group spent RM21.5mil or RM860 per sq ft to restore two heritage commercial and warehouse properties built in the early 20th century at Weld Quay.

AGB chief executive officer Dr Noraini Abdullah says the restoration turned out to be costly because a lot of work had to be done for strengthening the physical buildings, as their conditions were bad.

“About RM16mil was spent for restoring and reinforcing the physical infrastructure of the warehouse building, which serves as the event hall of the Rice Miller Hotel.

“Another RM5.5mil was spent in restoring a 5,000 sq ft colonial commercial building that will serve as the restaurant for the Rice Miller Hotel,” she adds.

The Rice Miller Hotel and Residences project is scheduled for completion next August and scheduled for opening in Dec 2013.

It will comprise 48 hotel suites, 99 city residences, which range between 800 and 2,500 sq ft in built-up, 23 retail lots of 600 sq ft, and two blocks of five-storey office buildings.

“In the past 12 months, we have sold 50% of the retail lots and city residences. Most of the buyers comprise Penangites and investors from Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur,” she adds.

Next to the Rice Miller Hotel and Residences project, Public Packages Holdings Bhd (PPHB) is restoring two heritage double-storey commercial properties with over 39,632 sq ft to be integrated into a RM50mil in-fill heritage hotel cum commercial project located at Church Street Ghaut, off Beach Street, which is popularly known as the central banking district.

PPHB hotel project manager Tony Koay says the group would spend RM15.8mil or RM400 per sq ft to restore the two heritage properties with fittings.

“One of the heritage commercial building with 11,000sq ft will be restored as part of the in-fill heritage hotel.

“The other heritage property with 28,632sq ft will be restored for commercial and office usage,” he says.

Koay says the advantage of carrying out infill development work for the heritage hotel project was that one could maximise the interior of the buildings to suit the needs of modern business usage.

The cost per sq ft to develop a heritage hotel from scratch with furnishings is about RM1,000 per sq ft, says Koay.

“A problem with restoring a heritage building for hotel usage is that the interior of such heritage buildings restricts the utilisation of space,” he says.

Koay adds that the in-fill heritage hotel would have over 150,000 sq ft of built-up area, 150 rooms, a business centre, meeting rooms, two-level of basement car-park, and retail shops on the ground floor.

“The architectural style for the hotel follows the design of late 19th and early 20th century port offices and warehouse buildings in George Town.

“We are targeting the upmarket tourists,” Koay says.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dishonest 90% failed campaign promises DAP, now disingenuously posing as hardworking. 46 million could be used to file a lawsuit against the Federal Governnment for :

This restoration b.s. is just Business NGO work, or perhaps Architecture NGO work, and NOT Political party work. Whats a political party for? Fighting for human rights and equality, not pushing ‘restoration projects’ while clinging on to undemocratic nepotism or term limitlessness. Weak and undemocratic!

ARTICLE 18

Compelling ‘Malays’ to be Muslims: Why M’sians should support Nurul Izzah – written by Gavin Khoo – Monday, 05 November 2012 07:22

Politicians are known to be chameleons and most of them would tailor make their statements according to their audience. Not for Nurul Izzah, an emerging force within the party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, which was founded to fight against Anwar Ibrahim’s persecution.

At a forum on “Islamic State: Which version; Who’s responsibility?”, she was reported to have said “People should not be compelled to adopt a particular religion and this should also apply to Malays.”

“When you ask me, there is no compulsion in religion… how can anyone say sorry, this (religious freedom) only applies to non-Malays, it has to apply equally.” she said.

She was responding to a question from the floor on whether Malays should have religious freedom like non-Malays.

“Malay” is defined under Section 160(2) of the federal constitution as a person who professes Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay customs.

Ultimately, she said, what should be sought is “quality” where Muslims’ faith is strong.

“Even me, being schooled in Assunta (secondary school) with a huge cross in the hall and an active singing Catholic society did not influence me,” she said.

However, Nurul Izzah stopped short of saying that Malays should be legally granted religious freedom, saying: “I am, of course, tied to the prevailing views.”

The position she espouses is unprecedented especially when she is a Muslim and she needs the support of largely Muslim voters in her constituency. She is probably facing one of the toughest political fights in her short political life against a much more established candidate, a federal minister, who has much more resources than what she could have mustered before the next GE.

We need a leader a leader who speaks from her own conscience as a democrat and a proponent of universal human rights. She sees a bigger picture than most leaders who would adopt a narrow religious interpretation which can be manipulated for their own political benefit.

Nurul did not attempt any of these cheap political stunts. She speaks up as a democrat, a true Muslim who holds firmly to her faith and a leader who reaches out to soothe the fear of her fellow Muslims against an often manipulated sense of inferiority and threats against their faith.

For this, Straight Talk would like to urge voters in her constituency, Lembah Pantai, to return her moderate voice and outstanding leadership to the 13th Malaysian Parliament.

NLP Warning about the title first – Though the writers may claim bad grammar : Compelling ‘Malays’ to be Muslims: Why M’sians should support Nurul Izzah makes the title of the article an NLP intended to sound like Malaysians should support Nurul BECAUSE of Compulsions of ‘Malays’ (one more NLP here, Malays in quotes can be misread to mean those considered by not actually Malays – subverted minorities perhaps?) to be Muslims.

Otherwise a spot of good news and a slight shift to actual moderation, though structurally and policy wise, still nothing here. Statements hold no water. Laws being changed, and constitutional amendments forwarded for ratification at Parliament at very least do. ‘Congrats’ (being sarcastic) at FINALLY reaching UFO/Bigfoot sighting level. Thats 33.3% and still a fail, though at least 1 PKR person bothered to apply for the exam (made a press statement) but didn’t turn up (no attempt to formalise in law/constitutional amendment) . . . whats the MP seat for? Making statements only? Is Nurul just a blogger or a media outlet and with NLP’s considered is Gavin and Khoo in cahoots with Nurul for more Islamic agendas or inmtentionally trying to demonise Nurul with misrepresentation via NLP titles?

Article 18 of the UN Human Rights charter for the Malays, and Article 1 of the UN Human Rights charter for the minorites, 3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution. (Surah An Nisa 4:75) MEANS Bumiputra Special Privileges ENDS . . . not empty talk. Also, nepotism issues still loom, but there will be plenty of time for that later. 2 term limits, and at 23K a month, thats 540K in 2 years! Let someone earn a living at that seat why don’t you or lower that salary to no more than 3 times annual average wage for Malaysia (around 3-4K a mont) . . . then GTFO after 2 terms, so do whatever is worth doing before 3rd force sweeps the back and forth out of the Dewan! This was responded to with Jamil Khir’s racist rant in below link.

More Article 16 type inability to differentiate AGAIN. Equality is not inconceivable. But those who do not gove others their spaces are unconscionable a create a culture of strife. The above Youtube vid is correct to a point but does some form of ‘lumping’ as well.

Equality is not inconceivable. But those who do not gove others their spaces via legal rights (do not disenfranchise minorities) are unconscionable and create a culture of strife. The above Youtube vid is correct to a point but does some form of ‘lumping’ as well, as not all Muslims will tolerate the lack of :

Ahmad Abd Jalil is being investigated over allegedly seditious remarks he had made against the Johor Sultan on his Facebook page. – Reuters pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The family members of Ahmad Abd Jalil, who was arrested on Friday for insulting the Johor Sultan, is pleading with the police not to permit the palace authorities to haul the youth to the royal house for an apology.

The family, responding to talks that Ahmad may be brought personally before the Sultan to apologise for his remarks, expressed fear today over the safety of the 27-year-old if he were to be taken to the palace.

According to an SMS from Ahmad’s sister to one of the family’s lawyer late last night, the police had told her mother that, “if the palace calls, they (the police) would be forced to bring Ahmad to face the Sultan”.

“If they want my son to apologise, bring him to court. Once he enters someone else’s territory, anything can happen and we wouldn’t know who to blame,” Ahmad’s father Abd Jalil Abd Rahman told The Malaysian Insider today.

“Everyone has to respect the due process of the law. And if they want to take my son to court to extract an apology, then so be it.

“Do not force him into palace custody where we have no control over. We are Penangites. We are not used to having a Sultan and we have heard many horror stories. This is our right,” he added.

The 60-year-old former government servant said the police have so far refused all attempts by his family to visit Ahmad, who was arrested in Kuala Lumpur at 8pm on Friday and transferred into the Johor police custody the same night.

As at noon today, Abd Jalil said he will be meeting with the investigating officer in Ahmad’s case.

“We hope to have a positive outcome from the meeting… I just want to see my son,” he said, adding that if it would look bad on the police if they were to forbid him from doing so.

In an SMS to The Malaysian Insider, Ahmad’s older brother agreed with his father in saying that the youth must be kept safely away from the palace compound.

“It is wrong to extract him from the balai/lokap to anywhere. We an apologise but thru proper procedures. Ahmad will apologise openly at court.

“Otherwise, we condone that the system is being used as ‘mode of ugutan (threat)’,” he said in the text message.

Ahmad is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, believed to be over allegedly seditious remarks he had made against the Johor Sultan on his Facebook page.

He was picked up from his office at around 8pm in Cheras yesterday by several plainclothes policemen before he was brought to the Wangsa Maju police station for questioning.

According to Ahmad’s lawyer Mohd Zakwan Adenan yesterday, the youth was at first not informed of his offence, except that he was allegedly being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948.

“They said they wanted to charge him under the Sedition Act for remarks he made on Facebook but when we asked the police which statement they were referring to, they could not answer,” he said.

Section 4(1) stipulates that any person who utters, prints or publishes any seditious words, on conviction, would be liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

After interrogating him for several hours at the Wangsa Maju police station yesterday, the police raided Ahmad’s parents’ house in Damansara Damai before taking the youth with them to Johor.

At 3pm yesterday, Ahmad was taken before a Johor magistrate by the police to obtain a three-day remand order.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The reverse could be said of having the case in Penang and the more urban areas of Malaysia, where the animosity towards all Sultans (who due to tacit approval pf Bumiputra Apartheid contributes in substantial measure to this sort of disafffection, or in some uncommon cases heavy monopoly like involvement in business sectors . . .) could be intentionally used to dismiss the case intentionally to make a salient point about apartheid (minorities) or absolutism (non/anti-royalist Malays) rather than to administer justice which in this case should be an equitable apology to the the measure of insult offered on the social networking site.

Malaysian judges and the legal system in Malaysia are not impartial, and always are politically motivated rather than professionalism or justice motivated, as much as the Bar Council does not address the lack of :

;for the Bar Council’s own political or financial (contract) based profit. I had written on the apartheid issue to every individual Sultan before and had no response whatsoever. Perhaps the letters were intercepted as so many other communications might have been. And due this, or simply crypto-racism, if not authoritarianism on the part of the palace officials if not the post service’s racists or lapdogs, I received no response on the matter whatsoever, as any civil society might have and issues like the above continue to mar relations between the intended as symbolic rulers and and the masses. Stature and privilege should be enough to even ignore this sort of insult, the palace certainly has the resources to unofficially argue back without getting directly involved but from the looks of this sandiwara which might well have ulterior motives of sounding out the populace’s less well written (also less well read) to identify those who are against the palace, which has chosen to get directly involved instead.

Thailand has long been known as the massage capital of the world. Now it’s going to prove it.

Some 800 masseuses in Bangkok were vying to make it into the Guinness World Records book on Thursday by mass-massaging 800 people simultaneously for 12 minutes, according to the Health Ministry, which was organizing the event to promote the Southeast Asian nation’s massage and spa industry to the world.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was to preside over the spectacle at an arena in the capital, and a representative from Guinness World Records was also expected to attend.

If successful, the masseuses would more than triple the previous record — attained in Australia in 2010 — of 263 people being massaged at the same time for five minutes.

Although many of country’s massage parlors notoriously double as fronts for prostitution, many more are legitimate spas offering all kinds of treatments, from aromatherapy to foot rubs to Thai “traditional massage” — an ancient art offered at shops across Bangkok that is still practiced and taught at the city’s revered Wat Pho temple.

The Health Ministry estimated last week that the industry generated up to 30 billion Thai baht (nearly $1 billion) in revenue, state media reported.

Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri has said he wants to see the industry bring in even more revenue. The National News Bureau of Thailand reported that the government “is aiming to make Thailand the world’s ultimate destination for massage, with plans to improve the quality of the workers, offer more massage classes to the public and set up a massage center in every hospital.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Sex is a form of massage. Except that an organ is being massaged by another organ. If muscles need massage, not inconceivable that ORGANS can and do need to be massaged. In fact the vaginal surface could be the superior ‘finger tip’ and the penis a ‘muscle’ (smooth). Western/Victorian ideas about sexuality have polluted esoteric massage and made what is natural (just an organ) into something bad or to be exploited by or where abuse is expected and normal outside of procreational use. Professional sex is NOT sex for love and should not be mixed up with morality or infidelity issues. If spouses have no skill and can only procreate, then they cannot fairly expect to satisfy or be expected to satisfy partners.

Also people have sex as much for health as for entertainment, the lasviciousness ‘problem’ being the ‘illness’ (actually spirituak energic ‘hunger’) that massage (of the penis by the vagina) releases. Stop feeling guilty guys, and underdstand that sex is normal, and that society’s ‘matrochial’ aspects of socialised mental illness or sexual manipulation by far less friendlier femi-nazis, is what typifies wives who withold or refuse to have sex. Just don’t pay more than minimum wage or what is reasonable for a fair (middle class) retirement to your sex worker/prostitute. Enough with the sexual politics, these so-called ‘sex workers’ and ‘prostitutes’ are HEALTH PROFESSIONALS that handle another sort of muscle (muscles when massaged give off chemicals, same with this ‘external’ organ . . . of which a certain distinguished friend of mine claimjed could lifet 50kg with proper taichi training . . . ), who have been needlessly stigmatized, and immatured/narrow society’s socio-political-manipulation ‘kissing in a tree’ attack mentality about sex is for unaware/unthinking citizens, children, uncivilised barbarians, and not even monkeys – adult monkeys at least which are frightfully human and surly as any adult human to boot.

The issue is most of society and even these HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (the simplified but stigmatized yet valid descriptor being “prostitutes”) have been infected by femi-nazi ideology or those intent on harming men by witholding sex (that is retaliated in by the less controlled in rapes, not that rapes are justifiable or better than witholding of sex which is why the ‘sexually able women’ can actually make a living off what is a leisurely activity . . . procreational sex.). Granted that the upper classes would prefer not to do this sort of work (and much like the love of ‘docking tails’ and ‘pricking ears’ or ‘neutering’ – did puss or pup give permission to so-called owners to REMOVE their nethers? . . . in animals which has been branded as cruel, the upper classes would expect a form of sanitised sexuality or expression of sexuality to be ‘the norm’, unfortunately, too much influence and too little emphasis on PRIVACY is the problem with virtually all ‘modern societies) , but this is a health related field/issue that cannot be ignored or only ignored at risk to the astral and ethereal and if too proud to have sex for health with others, then at very least do not attack the rights of sex workers and johns or those seeking health via sex (massage or external organs) in red light districts which need to, and have not yet been set up in all major international capitals at least.

Every sexual liason refused or missed is a disaster waiting to happen on the other side of the world in the form of earthquakes and tornadoes IF there is a similarly frustrated ‘person’ (‘person’ as in lowest chakra/spinal node spirit, not the day to day person – humans are much like ‘Portuguese-Men-O-War’ . . . colonies of SPIRITS attached to a single physical body specifically to ORGANS including the external one the retards in society are so woo-woo about . . . ) mirroring. If compounded by viciousness of intent, attempts to manipulate, steal spirit or what not, AND by spouses (which is why people get married, though society often creates conditions that prevent marriage the most evident being refusal to distribute land or distribute wealth in extreme wealth or land sequestration by a handful of individuals), spiritual sins akin to rape occur. So have fun figuring out why man has had a history of war . . . that all for Sexual Occult Theory 101 for today. The Atlanteans used sexual magick (apparently with the dead) and destroyed themselves by Mother Nature’s wrath, now mankind if not ready to create better conditions around them and suppress or harness what should be wild free libidos of free citizens, will get to enjoy nature’s need to remove the offending individuals, because phenotypical links are a spiritual firmament or spiritual bedrock of sorts that cannot be touched or tampered with without free willed assent (which is why rapes are so bad though killing in turn for raping is worse than raping alone and is no equitable punishment/vengeance).

DVDs are dead, pay sites are struggling and porn is free and unlimited. Why live cams, Twitter and Skype may be the porn industry’s last hope.

Ruby Knox moved to Los Angeles six years ago to become a porn star. The free-spirited Native American, now 27 (though her online profile at SquirtNetwork.com gives her age as 25), says she was in it as much for the self-exploration as the money — and for a while, she found both. For much of the last decade, the San Fernando Valley — porn’s longtime hub — was flush with cash from DVD sales and an online streaming boom. Knox shot for studios like Hustler and Vivid, picking up a few AVN Award nominations in the process.

But this past April, she packed up her computer and and left the Valley. Now, from her home in Baja California, Knox does private webcam sessions for up to $15 per minute.

Knox is not alone. Webcams — or “cams” as they’re more commonly referred in the industry — were once an online backwater populated by Eastern Europeans and low-quality, stop-and-go videos. In the past few years, they’ve emerged as the driving force of a new internet porn boom.

For those at the top, the rewards are incredible. A popular model on a large cam site can generate over $40,000 in a single month. There are multiple revenue streams for a cam star, including group chats, but for many the goal is to find a “whale,” an online sugar daddy who might spend $20,000 a month on you or, even better, a member of “the platinum club” — the high-net worth fans who spend more than $100,000 a year.

Webcams have been around for almost as long as the commercial internet, but the days of watching a monitor-lit star hunched over a keyboard are long gone. In the past few years, prosumer electronics, HD video-streams and hands-free operation have turned the cams from an also-ran to the porn industry’s financial front-runner. And thanks to programs like Skype, cams have become much more of an interactive experience. If the appeal of those first webcams was voyeurism, the appeal of today’s cams is their intimacy.

The cam industry owes as much to phone sex as it does to porn. After all, the goal with cams isn’t to get the customers off, but to seduce them into staying online — at $15 a minute, the sizzle is worth much more than the steak.

Alec Helmy, publisher of the porn industry trade magazine Xbiz, calls cams “one of the industry’s few bright spots.” While the rest of piracy-plagued porn is struggling to survive, he says top cam companies have been growing by as much as 20 percent annually. Douglas Richter, a rep for Adult Webmaster Empire (AWE), one of the industry’s largest cam companies, estimates industry revenues at between $1.5 and $2 billion a year.

And where the money goes, the stars have followed. Cams are drawing increasingly high-profile stars, who are attracted to both the money and the adulation. A recent cam show by Jenna Haze* on AWE’s LiveJasmin.com attracted 10,000 paying followers. That’s a lot of cash, even in an industry used to quick fortune.

It’s one reason a site like Live Jasmin can now operate in the same cultural space once reserved for luxury brands like Chandon or Bentley: Flo Rida name checked the site in his recent single, “Hey Jasmin.”

Live Jasmin may not yet have the name recognition of Playboy, but that won’t last for long. The site currently holds an Alexa ranking of 46, making it one of the 50 most popular sites in the entire world. On an average day, LiveJasmin.com attracts more online viewers than the New York Times, Netflix or ESPN. By traffic — and possibly revenue — it’s the largest adult company in the world.

The key to cams’ success is the interaction with the star — so unlike traditional porn, there’s little incentive to pirate. A taped cam show is like a taxidermied pet: It might look the same, but it’s a little lifeless. So while the rest of the porn industry fights to keep its content off torrent sites, cams are exploding. They may share a lineage with filmed porn, but it’s a Darwinian offshoot that has suddenly found itself immune to the virus that’s killing off its competitors.

It’s also changing the nature of the entire business.

GIVING PORN AWAY

In the traditional system, a porn producer would shoot a movie and try to move as many copies as it could. With cams, the goal isn’t so much to go wide as it is to find a few “whales” willing to spend big. It’s porn for the 1%.

“It’s a different kind of profit. It’s a different kind of customer,” says Randy Blue. Blue launched his eponymous gay porn site nearly a decade ago and quickly became one of the biggest players in the industry — a streaming video success story. At one point, he considered using his success to buy up traditional brick-and-mortar porn studios, but he couldn’t see the long-term value. Two years ago, he decided to invest heavily in cams.

“If anybody works in the industry and they see their profit shrinking monthly and they haven’t caught the clue they might be obsolete in two years, I don’t know what to tell them. We’re going through the biggest technological change that this industry has ever gone through, much more than reel-to-reel to VHS to DVD — that was nothing,” he says.

The porn industry, he says, is on the same trajectory as all media: content itself no longer holds value. “When you look at the money that’s made by most recording artists, they make their money in concerts. What used to be a $30 ticket is now $125 ticket. Sometimes they do a smaller venue with fans who are willing to pay more.”

If you’re an artist who wants to remain independent — whether as a filmmaker, a rock band or a porn star — your success is your direct connection, and the only commodity worth selling is the live event.

Take Clerks director Kevin Smith, who abandoned traditional distribution for his film Red State in favor of a traveling roadshow. Or a comedian like Louis C.K, who self-distributed his concert album Live at the Beacon to his fans at a steep discount — and now uses that direct connection to sell concert tickets without a middleman. Acts like Radiohead essentially give away their albums — and make it up in live performance.

Filmed porn may continue to exist, but many in the industry say it’s likely to become a loss leader, a way to make ancillary revenue. Faced with thousands of tube sites giving away their content, companies from Pink Visual to Kink.com have even looked into giving away their movies for free in order to sell advertising for things like sex toys, dating sites — and cams.

Blue says he’s not sure that free is the answer, but he hasn’t ruled it out. “There is a whole generation of guys who aren’t going to pay for music, porn or anything. So if there are 10,000 people who won’t pay, you have to find a thousand who will.”

And, he says, the 10 percent that is still willing to pay for porn is willing to pay a lot more for a live event.

Ruby Knox’s profile on SquirtNetwork.com

THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2.0

That same 10 percent is also changing what defines a star in this new universe. It’s no longer enough to have a pretty face and a tight body. A cam star needs to be able to connect — and to sell.

The connection is what originally drew Ruby Knox to cams, and one reason why she thrives here. “With porn you can’t really relate to your audience, really. You’re just a figment of their imagination,” Knox says. Her fans are as likely to talk with her about items on Reddit as they are about sex.

Knox is a geek, and most of her audience is people like her: gamers, hackers, young professionals who work from home. The very people you wouldn’t expect to pay for porn are spending plenty on her.

A good cam star is part Scheherazade, part carnival barker. Shows always start out free, of course, and often include a countdown clock. The star will tease and flirt; she might talk about her day or how horny she is or what she’s got planned for the show. She could bring out a sex toy or introduce a special guest. Through it all, she’s the consummate hostess, greeting old fans as they log on and batting her eyes at the new ones. But there’s only so much she’ll give away for free.

When the show begins the screen goes blank for anyone who hasn’t ponied up. A show can be anything from lower-priced group chat — sometimes called a circle jerk, where anyone who pays can log in and talk to her — to a personal cam-to-cam show with a single dedicated fan. Sometimes it’s explicit sex, and sometimes it’s just company. (AWE’s Richter says some of the highest paid stars barely get naked.)

For the performer, the cam business model is more akin to dancing — the exotic kind — than it is to traditional porn work. And like a strip club, the house — in this case the cam site — takes a substantial cut, sometimes as much as 40 percent.

Some individual stars do run their own cams, but it’s nothing compared to the money that can be made on a heavily trafficked site like Live Jasmin. While every star has dedicated fans, it’s access to new ones that makes it financially sustainable in the long term. If you want to land a whale, you have to sail in deeper waters.

But even on a site with a lot of traffic, the hustle is still up to the star. A good cam star recognizes your name, remembers what you like, feeds you compliments, and sends you personal messages in the off-hours. This is the Girlfriend Experience 2.0.

The cam section of Samantha Ryan’s site. (It’s loading, perpetually.)

“I talk to them,” says Samantha Ryan, who shot for studios like Pink Visual and Vivid, but now cams almost daily from her home in Los Angeles. “I bring them into the show. You’re trying to eliminate the space between you.”

The era of the untouchable porn diva is over, Ryan says. Cams require an entirely different skill set. “The girls that are just into themselves? “It can be fun for awhile…”

She trails off, as if not wanting to offend. Many cam stars still look for traditional scene work, both because it pays better on an hourly basis and because it acts as an advertisement for their cams. And many top porn stars still regard the cam business as unglamorous. If you’re doing well in traditional porn, cam work can be risky.

“A webcam show can kill the fantasy,” says Knox, carefully choosing her words. “What if someone shows up on cam and is crazy, or taking shots and passing out with a dildo? It’s not for everyone.”

It’s also harder on the psyche. Cam stars have to interact with fans for three or four hours a day, and when they’re not on camera, they have to keep it bubbly on Facebook and Twitter. If download speeds defined the streaming porn boom, the omnipresent grind of social networking defines the cam boom.

While most porn stars have online profiles, cam stars have made social media an art. In their off-hours, stars use it to monitor and interact with fans, to increase familiarity and to get them excited about upcoming shows. When they go online, they send out tweets and emails to their fans; regulars and big spenders might get text messages as well. And they’ve learned to steel themselves against mob mentality and trolls.

“You really have to be on ‘on’,” says Ryan. “Not just on your personal game, but in knowing how to talk to everybody, how to deal with the haters.”

Cams, like comment boards and Facebook threads, are magnets for malcontents and trolls.

“I’d rather get herpes than watch you,” one told her during a recent show. Ryan says she laughed it off publicly because she didn’t want to appear difficult. But the attacks can be vicious. “I understand the psychology. It’s the opportunity for a live one-on-one with us, which they haven’t gotten before.”

For new stars like Jessie Andrews, Best Actress at this year’s AVN Awards, the trouble isn’t worth the trade off. Studio work can pay several thousand dollars for a few hours’ work, and if you’re young and live in Los Angeles, that may be enough.

“Cams are great,” she wrote over email, but says she rarely does them. “I think that girls should make a higher percentage.”

Some cam companies do attempt to lure models with better percentages, especially as performers from Eastern Europe, India and Colombia drive down rates. Ryan used to make more than $1000 per show, but estimates that her profits have dropped by half in the past year because customers are becoming used to getting more for less.

Still, for performers Ryan and Knox, the opportunity to control their own destiny is worth it. Hard work, not just looks, determines how much money you make. It’s not a lucrative on an hour-by-hour basis, but it offers something for the performer that porn never did: predictability.

For Ryan, that means allowing her to go back to school for computer engineering. She has a regular income, and more importantly, a regular schedule. When she was dependent on film shoots, she could hardly schedule yoga, let alone a school semester. Now, sets her own hours and can make a budget.

Knox agrees. She still looks for scene work — she calls filmed porn a “lucrative hobby,” and still shoots when in LA — but cams gave her a life.

“I love that freedom. It’s the American dream. It’s so cool,” And then she excuses herself to have a late lunch, poolside in Mexico.

Michael Stabile is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles.

Top illustration by BuzzFeed’s Chris Ritter

Update: Flo Rida lyrics and SquirtNetwork.com screencap corrected.

*Douglas Richter says he misspoke when he said Jenna Jameson recently had a show on Live Jasmine — he meant Jenna Haze.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

RLDs in major world capitals please. One fundo’s vice is another man’s recreation. All men being equal, then all spaces/laws should be granted.

ARTICLE 3

Claim: Obama hid ‘gay life’ to become president – Chicago homosexual community shocked he could keep it secret – by Jerome R. CorsiEmail

Leave Comacho alone!

A prominent member of Chicago’s homosexual community claims Barack Obama’s participation in the “gay” bar and bathhouse scene was so well known that many who were aware of his lifestyle were shocked when he ran for president and finally won the White House.

“It was preposterous to the people I knew then to think Obama was going to keep his gay life secret,” said Kevin DuJan, who was a gossip columnist in Chicago for various blogs when Obama was living in the city as a community organizer and later a state senator.

“Nobody who knew Obama in the gay bar scene thought he could possibly be president,” said DuJan.

DuJan, founder and editor of the Hillary Clinton-supporting website HillBuzz.org, told WND he has first-hand information from two different sources that “Obama was personally involved in the gay bar scene.”

“If you just hang out at these bars, the older guys who have been frequenting these gay bars for 25 years will tell you these stories,” DuJan said. “Obama used to go to the gay bars during the week, most often on Wednesday, and they said he was very much into older white guys.”

Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen, who worked with the National Security Agency from 1984 to 1988 as a Navy intelligence analyst, confirmed DuJan’s claims.

“It is common knowledge in the Chicago gay community that Obama actively visited the gay bars and bathhouses in Chicago while he was an Illinois state senator,” Madsen told WND.

WND also spoke with a member of the East Bank Club in Chicago, who confirmed Obama was a member there and was known to be a homosexual. The upscale fitness club says it has some 10,000 members, but it’s one of a number of places identified by the Chicago homosexual community as a “gay gym.”

In April, WND reported a federal judge dismissed a libel case against Larry Sinclair, a homosexual who claimed Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign had paid to rig a polygraph test regarding Sinclair’s sensational charge that he had sex and used cocaine twice with Obama while Obama was an Illinois state senator. Sinclair tells his story in “Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder.”

WND also reported former radical activist John Drew has said that when he met Obama when Obama was a student at Occidental College, he thought Obama and his then-Pakistani roommate were “gay” lovers.

In addition, rumors have swirled around Obama’s relationship with his personal aide and former “body man,” Reggie Love, who resurfaced on the eve of the Republican National Convention to support his old boss. Love resigned from the White House in November 2011 after compromising photographs of him as a college student received wide circulation.

WND also has documented in two separate articles, here and here, that Obama wore a gold band on his wedding ring finger from the time he attended Occidental College through his student days at Harvard Law School.

DuJan said that during Obama’s first presidential campaign, “there was fear in the gay community” about talking openly about Obama being homosexual, particularly after the murder in December 2007 of Donald Young, the openly gay choir director at Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ, who was known to be a close friend of Obama.

“People did not want to talk openly about Obama being gay,” he said.

“Then, when we saw how Larry Sinclair was demonized, anybody who would expose Obama worried they would be silenced if they dared to speak the truth about Obama’s gay life,” DuJan said.

‘Obama’s secrets’

DuJan said he has been told “Obama’s secrets would have to come out just like John Edwards’ secrets came out.”

He said Obama stopped going to gay bars and bathhouses in Chicago when he began running for the U.S. Senate in 2004.

“Back then, Obama could walk around Chicago and people generally wouldn’t recognize him, even though he was a state senator in the Illinois assembly at the time,” DuJan said.

DuJan insisted that while he’s a supporter of Hillary Clinton, he holds no personal animus toward Obama. He said he campaigned for Clinton in 2008 “because I had waited for years for her to be able to run.”

“I opposed Obama not because I’m a racist, or that I hate Obama, I just knew the type of person Obama associated with in Chicago,” he said.

“Obama was a dirty politician that the media never wanted to vet – that’s what concerned me about Obama,” Du Jan said.

DuJan spoke further of his claims about Obama in an interview Monday night on Andrea Shea King’s show on BlogTalkRadio.com, which included questions from WND during the last half of the show.

Man’s Country

Madsen published an article in his Wayne Madsen Report in May 2010 claiming Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel were members of the same bathhouse in Chicago.

“President Obama and his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel are lifetime members of the same gay bathhouse in uptown Chicago, according to informed sources in Chicago’s gay community, as well as veteran political sources in the city,” Madsen wrote.

He said the bathhouse, “Man’s Country,” catered “to older men,” noting “it has been in business for some 30 years and is known as one of uptown Chicago’s ‘grand old bathhouses.’”

Madsen wrote his 2010 report after traveling to Chicago to interview bartenders and customers at several “gay” bars.

DuJan gave WND a list of “gay” bars in Chicago where older customers hang out and tell stories about how Obama, prior to 2004, frequented visited to pick up men for sex, including several on Halstead Street, widely known as an “uber-gay Chicago street.

Writing in HillBuzz.com Tuesday, DuJan said rooms at Man’s Country bathhouse are still referred to as the “presidential suite,” or the “Oral Office,” because “the current President used to haunt the place when he was a just another Illinois state senator that no one had ever heard of or cared about.”

DuJan said he believes that, someday, “all of this is going to be as public knowledge as JFK’s affair with Marilyn Monroe and the other women he cavorted with while married to Jackie.”

“Someday,” he said, “in the next 10-20 years, everyone will know all about Man’s Country, and the place will no doubt get a plaque of sometime commemorating that place as a gay hangout for the future leader of the free world.”

Jerome R. Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D., is a WND senior staff reporter. He has authored many books, including No. 1 N.Y. Times best-sellers “The Obama Nation” and “Unfit for Command.” Corsi’s latest book is “Where’s the REAL Birth Certificate?”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Obama will be President for 2 terms after which we do not care if Obama got into porn and owned a string of brothels across USA – Uber-pimp style. Obama may have spent too many terms as Senator and is the President of USA but deserves a private life as much as anyone else. As long as official and non-official lives are separate, who can fairly begrude anyone that freedom of choice which is what USA is all about? Freedom of sexuality cannot be denied the President if everyone else has that right. Good policy writing (which admittedly Obama hasn’t exactly proven yet) is more important than a incumbent or candidate’s sexuality.

Would USA prefer a straight alpha male policy writer or President that destroys the country with bad policy, unneeded wars . . . or a limp wristed, campy gay club visiting President that raises/re-raises the country to the status of a superpower where all are housed and fed and clothed with bright futures? This is politics, not private narrow communalism or fundo bias, doesn’t the writer have the maturity or intelligence to tell the difference?

Vote only for politicians that will ratify “Free Tertiary Education” for all citizens!

A student walks near Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA.(AFP Photo / Kevork Djansezian)

Most US college students hope to land a good job with a high salary after graduation. But for some the reality is very different. Many find themselves faced with insurmountable debt – and a loan industry that’s happy to cash in on their misfortune.

­As the number of people taking out government-backed student loans has soared, so has the number of borrowers who have fallen behind in making payments.

Around 5.9 million people nationwide have fallen at least 12 months behind in their payments. This number has grown by a third in the last five years, according to a State Higher Education Finance survey.

Many who can’t repay their loans feel they have no choice but to default. It’s a decision that can be disastrous – ruining a borrower’s credit and increasing the amount they owe. It can also result in penalties of up to 25 per cent of the balance.

Despite the scary consequences, young adults across America have chosen to default on their loans. And that decision has resulted in a cat-and-mouse game with the government.

“I keep changing my phone number. In a year, this is probably my fourth phone number,” former student Amanda Cordeiro told the New York Times.

Cordeiro receives up to seven calls a day from debt collectors attempting to recover her $55,000 in overdue student loans. But phone calls are just the beginning.

Since the federal government imposes no statute of limitations for collecting loan repayments, escaping the debt is nearly impossible.

“You are going to pay it, or you are going to die with it,” said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com.

As America’s poor economy causes companies and small businesses to close their doors, the debt collection industry is booming.

Conserve, a debt collection agency in New York, expects to double its payroll in the next three years.

“There is great opportunity,” the company’s president and founder Mark E. Davitt, told the New York Times.

It’s easy to see where that opportunity comes from.

The nationwide student loan balance is more than $1 trillion. It’s a number that makes borrowers cringe.

However, debt collectors are more than grateful for the astronomically high amount of debt among college graduates.

Debt collectors used to receive a steady and reliable income from credit card debt, but the slowing economy has made collection a challenge.

Now, student loans are filling that hole. In fact, many are calling students the “new oil well” for the debt collection industry.

“While the Department of Education debt collection contract has been one of the most highly sought-after contracts within the ARM industry for years, I believe it is now THE most sought-after contract within this industry, centered within the most sought-after market – student loans,” mergers and acquisitions specialist Mark Russell wrote on Insidearm.com.

It’s a win-win situation for both the government and collection agencies. Government officials estimate they will collect 76 to 82 cents on every dollar of loans made in fiscal 2013 that end up in default. Borrowers then have to pay collection costs, which go straight to the debt agencies.

In addition to the balance, borrowers are charged for collection costs, which go straight to the debt agencies.

The rewards trickle down to other areas, too.

Educational Credit Management Corp. (ECMC), a Minnesota based agency, benefits from its 18-year-old agreement with the US government, according to Bloomberg News.

The company charges fees to borrowers and earns commissions from taxpayers when it collects on defaulted student loans. And the rewards are lucrative.

ECMC’s debt collectors earn financial perks as a reward from extracting money from defaulted borrowers. In 2010, the company’s top performers received bonuses equivalent to as much as 10 times their base salaries, which range from $33,000 to $46,000.

It’s a never-ending cycle between borrower and lender – and the winner is almost always the lender. After all, it’s nearly impossible to hide from the government.

“It’s the closest thing to debtor prison that there is on this Earth,” former student Patrick Writer said of his federal loan.

Commentator comments :

@africaboy (unregistered) September 10, 2012, 00:39

They problem is not that they love educated people. No the society of profit makers do not want people to get educated. They want to take away from you any aspiration and self confident. Politicians like Obama and his wife will come to the microphone to talk about Student loans situation. They make you feel like they are one of those students. End story they will talk about their own success. But how many people will have the chance to become a good House negro? Romney asked freshman students to start their own business. He told them to go ask money to their parent!!. Can you see how this man is not touch? A parent who has no real income how that parent can finance a business. The American illusion is a reality. Obama’s wife told us how her father did everything to help her and her brother pay for their student loans. I was extremely surprised to see that Woman lying live from the television screen. Her dad as she told us was very sick man. They did not have enough. How much her dad was paying back then? She said her and her husband students loans combined where higher than their mortgage. In year 2008 Obama told us he just finished paying his student loans before declaring his candidacy. As you can see people of America has no support for any of the politicians. The two parties system is made of fabrication and liars. Today the government can take a decision cut every graduate student with 98% of their loan. That mean erase the loan at the level of 98%.

Require Schools to provide a real job assistance to graduate students or they need to close their doors. A commission between the department of labor and department of education should be established to oversee the job placement they said they will help provide. All those school boutique must close their doors. More than 70% of America schools are schools boutique. They are not in business to educate people but to make money and profit. The money you pay for a year schooling can help you finish a whole degree program is most country. Three courses at the Master or Doctorate level will cost easily $12000 to $18000 Us Dollars. The Arabs ( Saudi, Koweit, United Emirate Arabs) are the few who will pay off their students fees in one payment and some very few America students from the top 1%.

@kuplungmaster September 10, 2012, 00:37

Perhaps all those young and educated people should pack their bags and move elsewhere. I am sure someone will appreciate their knowledge and expertise. The morbid joy of collection agencies over misfortune of many was expected.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Don’t waste money on education. Buy some land and kick back and relax, even rent out some of that land for the starving to cultivate. Being a landlord beats being a debt slave for a overrated piece of paper that only allows one to be a work slave to end that debt, by which time most are already in their 30s only ro begin saving from scratch what they had when they were just entering college which would take another 10 years at least, after which a young upstart with tghe same debt would need the job more than the same faded ‘paper chaser’ who might still be in debt because of marriage and kids needing an education! We die our children follow indeed – especially for conventional degree types . . .

ARTICLE 4

Who Are These People! – Posted on September 8, 2012 by Kirwan

These two kids were six or seven years old when this was drawn, back in 1966. They represented ‘Children of the Empty Promise’ which would put them in their early fifties by now, if they had survived.

I find it virtually impossible to believe that Americans are putting up with stuff like “Extrodinary Events Management-Rules” as these are to be applied tomorrow with the start of the Democratic Convention

In Charlotte, N. Carolina.

“CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Starting Saturday, someone walking through Charlotte’s central business district could run afoul of the law by carrying water bottles, hair spray, socks or magic markers under sweeping security rules enacted ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

It would take a particularly strict reading of the rules for someone to be arrested simply for possessing one of those items, but the possibility exists — which worries protesters and free speech advocates. They fear authorities could trample on people’s constitutional rights in the name of protecting public safety.

On what planet do people exist that need to be protected from magic markers, water-bottles or women’s purses as weapons against over 5,000 heavily armed troops?

“Extrodinary Event” there’s new law coming out in Charlotte that explains that you lose your rights in this country if it is during an extrodinary event. If you go to the Democratic Convention in Charlotte you will be subject to the Extrodinary Event laws (up to one mile from the Convention site). To enforce this new events law they’ve got 1,750 storm troopers down there, but that wasn’t quite enough; so they brought in 3,400 other storm-troopers on-loan-officers from around the country.

Now put this in military terms because truly this is what our police forces come down to – that is over ten battalions of military soldiers that will be enforcing “Extrodinary Events laws from people carrying magic-markers or handbags or soda cans. It isn’t about making a statement that there will be no violence in Charlotte, because in these Extrodinary Event Laws they didn’t take away your right to open-carry a gun: It’s all about making everything illegal! Make it illegal so that if you need to be stopped and detained and black-bagged and ‘got rid of’ there are laws on the books that makes that “POSSIBLE.” You are nothing more than cattle, in this country at this point!

You will not see anyone in the mainstream Media covering this, you will not see any of the protestors being beat-down or arrested or detained. You will not see any experts up there telling you that the Constitution has been totally destroyed—what you will see is a charade. A democratic committee telling us how we rescued an economy, how we’re going to go after Wall Street, how we’re going to stay on the path of bringing jobs back to the country and NOTHING could be further from the truth…” (1)

Yesterday the following data was mentioned.

“(CNSNews.com) – The number of Americans whom the U.S. Department of Labor counted as “not in the civilian labor force” in August hit a record high of 88,921,000.

The Labor Department counts a person as not in the civilian labor force if they are at least 16 years old, are not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home, and have not actively looked for a job in the last four weeks. The department counts a person as in “the civilian labor force” if they are at least 16, are not in the military or an institution such as a prison, mental hospital or nursing home, and either do have a job or have actively looked for one in the last four weeks.

In July, there were 155,013,000 in the U.S. civilian labor force. In August that dropped to 154,645,000—meaning that on net 368,000 people simply dropped out of the labor force last month and did not even look for a job.

There were also 119,000 fewer Americans employed in August than there were in July. In July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 142,220,000 Americans working. But, in August, there were only 142,101,000 Americans working.

Despite the fact that fewer Americans were employed in August than July, the unemployment rate ticked down from 8.3 in July to 8.1. That is because so many people dropped out of the labor force and stopped looking for work. The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labor force (meaning they had a job or were actively looking for one) who did not have a job.

The Bureau of Labor Statistic also reported that in August the labor force participation rate (the percentage of the people in the civilian non-institutionalized population who either had a job or were actively looking for one) dropped to a 30-year low of 63.5 percent, down from 63.7 percent in July. The last time the labor force participation rate was as low as 63.5 percent was in September 1981.” (3).

However to get to reality the public would need to know:

How many people in this country are over 16 years old, and are not in any of the excluded categories? What the figures above seem to indicate is that almost half of the potential work force remains unemployed. Whatever the case the FEDS have to de-cloak the real numbers and level with the public about jobs and unemployment in plain English.

“… The changes to city ordinances adopted earlier this year for “extraordinary events” ban a long list of actions and items that would otherwise be legal from a more than 100-square-block zone. The area includes spots as much as a mile from the sports venues where the Democratic Party events are to be held.

The new rules have already been used for events before the convention and will remain on the books after it’s over.

The special rules that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday could also bar anyone other than government employees from carrying handbags and backpacks or possessing soda cans, drink coolers, scarves, bike helmets, baby strollers or pets not specifically permitted as service animals.

A section banning “a container or object of sufficient weight to be used as a projectile” could be interpreted to include almost anything, from an apple to an iPhone.

Those caught violating any of these prohibitions could be subject to arrest and jail.

Similar prohibitions have been in place at past conventions; especially those following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Outside the Republican National Convention in 2004, New York City police carried out mass arrests, detaining hundreds of people for days in miserable conditions on a Hudson River pier. Most of those charges were later dropped or thrown out, triggering dozens of lawsuits against the city.

At the rain-soaked Republican Convention in Tampa earlier this week, officials banned umbrellas, baseballs and puppet-making materials. There, the rules went largely untested after only a fraction of the expected protesters showed up due to worries about Hurricane Isaac.

Charlotte’s Uptown business district is home to the headquarters of Bank of America and substantial operations for Wells Fargo, two of the nation’s largest financial institutions. The “March on Wall Street South” scheduled for Sunday is expected to draw thousands of protesters.

Members of Occupy Charlotte, who are helping to organize the march, said turnout for that and other protests could get a boost from demonstrators deterred from Tampa by the weather. At the other end of the political spectrum, tea party activists and other right wing groups are also planning protests.

City and police officials stressed that it’s their responsibility to maintain law and order. There has been street violence at some recent high-profile events, such as the 2008 GOP convention in Minneapolis and the NATO Summit in Chicago this year.

“History has shown, unfortunately, that while the vast majority are law-abiding and peaceful, expressing their First Amendment rights, a number of folks use the opportunity of large crowds and a platform to cause harm and violence,” said Charlotte City Attorney Robert Hagemann, who helped draft the extraordinary event ordinance.” (2)

The people of this nation deserve better from every area of the government with all those EMPTY-PROMISES they’ve been trying to sell us on since 1966.

In the meanwhile just who are these fat lazy white men, and a few women, who haven’t seen their genitals in over twenty years because of all the fat that continues to swell their hideous forms. What kind of a country is afraid of “magic-markers” at a political convention, or anywhere else for that matter? What has happened to this place that we cannot live without the government’s permission to do anything at all—ever!

If no one attended this fake convention—that would end the charade, and we could easily take back what’s left of this dump. Or we might actually reject the FERAL-Federal-Government and withdraw the permission which the states lent to the FEDS to create the central government in the first place. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, BUT FIRST YOU’VE GOT TO GET MAD ENOUGH TO BEGIN TO ACT. (4)

We have to stop taking pictures and start taking action—before this Rogue Government begins to launch wave after wave of military riot-squads against us. It’s time for the public to ACT on their own behalf, or just forgets about anything to do with this place as somewhere fit for human habitation!

The Children of the Empty Promise still haunt this place, and their lives ought to have counted for a hell of lot more than they obviously did, when most of these LIES were first uncovered…

Jim Kirwan

1) Extrodinary Events – 5 min video

2) DNC Security Rules Trigger Free Speech worries

3) Record 88,921,000 Americans Not in Labor Force

4) Judge Napolitano on Nullification and the Constitutional Powers of States – 2 min video

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

So long as day to day tolerances are as low as currently are, no tolerance should be given to extraordinary event ‘arrests’ or ‘charges’ without proof.

Many things are being altered right before our eyes, mostly without our consent, or knowledge. These changes are coming from well-funded and classified experiments, accidents, and new science, often with creepy ‘modern’ agendas driving them. This sort of broad scale change is unfolding in nearly every facet of our lives. But the signs and symptoms already indicate that our health may suffer as a result.

Lets start with food for example. The bio-availability of the nutrients in our food seems to be getting interrupted. Could it be the irradiation or modification of foods? Some believe that the reason for the obesity problems could actually be a lack of nutrition, a slow starvation, because the nutrition cannot get into the cells.

Weather modification is nothing new, and researchers claim that the residues from spraying create toxic effects on our health, plants, and animals. We seem to be ingesting experimental aerosolized air, tainted water (with fluoride, pharmaceuticals, etc.), faked food, and untested medicines. Asthma cases are soaring, as are mysterious flu-like symptoms. But that is only the tip of a very chilling future according to many thinkers.

Hollywood is helping us to be de-sensitized to words, through popular movies. For example, many science fiction movies feature flesh eating zombies (mutated humans), and terra-forming earth. Academic futurists are talking about Transhumanism, and popular magazines illustrates how a future man might physically appear.

Transhumanism, a new and growing movement, is asserting claims to augment ‘ natural humans’, replacing them with a technological ‘advanced’ artificial intelligence, fueled by nanotechnology and bio-engineering. As change accelerates, we are hearing the term, die off’s, and shrug it off to natural ‘extinctions’. The skies are often white, not blue, as the weather experiments, (race to control the weather, or other motives), become extreme. Sadly, as we get desensitized, we accept a new normal.

Yet, Terra-Forming the environment (geo-engineering) and changing the nature of man needs some forethought. If the skies are sprayed with aerosols, as many documents note, (to reflect the sunlight preventing warming), serious consequences seem obvious. Ultimately, are we hurting ourselves, and, future generations?

We have already created plastic antibodies. We have smart pills, smart chicken, smart water, smart washers, and smart grid. Smart is a marketing word, like, the new modern, but often with an altered brew. Today, we get artificial (plastic) body parts, and create new life in vitro, (cellular engineering). In short, we’re already ingesting new chemicals, plastics, nano particles, while being bombarded 24/7 by invisible electromagnetic frequencies (ELF’s). We are told everything is safe, but is it? How do you feel?

Transhumanism looks into the future for man decades, based on today’s technologies. We already have cryonics (preservation of cells). Virtual reality already mimics reality, and soon will include our sense of touch, (haptics). It is suggested that people might prefer the virtual reality of the future, to reality.

Sophisticated biotechnology combined with nano technology will become so convenient and tiny, that the everyday person will want to implant them (for convenience or prestige). New vaccines are on the horizon for countless ailments, with needle -less creative ways to ingest them. Yum.

Before embracing all new technologies sold to us to improve our lives, it might be wise to take a very close look at the non-monetary price you will pay especially when linked to potential harmful side effects. Start with what you can do for you,or your loved ones and learn what you are putting into your bodies willingly.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Neurotech.

ARTICLE 6

Stretchable electronic skin being developed to monitor vital signs – by Tecca | Today in Tech – 7th September 2012

Advances in polymer technology allow circuits to stretch just like human skin

Just when you thought tattoos couldn’t get any cooler, scientists at Cambridge, Massachussetts startup MC10 are working on stretchable electronics that can be applied to a person’s skin. The ultimate goal with these polymer patches is to allow them to be used to monitor a patient’s vital signs, both externally and internally.

Thanks to advances in polymer substrate, microchips, LEDs, wireless technology, and even solar cells, this stretchable electronic skin may be the key to revolutionizing the medical diagnostic field. Or they could just allow you to have really cool light-up tattoos.

Previously, electronic-embedded polymer was only able to bend, but not stretch. MC10 aims to change this with the release of its first product, in partnership with Reebok, this fall. Although details are being kept secret, the company’s skin patch products are meant to wirelessly transmit medical information such as heart rate, respiration, hydration, temperature, and more from the patient to a nearby smartphone. Stretchable balloon catheters are also being developed to allow high-resolution mapping of the heart to detect problematic cardiac tissue.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This coupled with neutrotech will be the end of humanity’s free will. Will the appropriate watchdogs act now to ensure that this sort of technology does not become rampant and uncontrolled? Think ‘White Zones’ and consumer rights and access to non-GMO or traditional medical/herbal treatments. Do not deny anyone this right of choice even if all this tech becomes mainstream.

A five-year research programme, called Project Indect, aims to develop computer programmes which act as “agents” to monitor and process information from web sites, discussion forums, file servers, peer-to-peer networks and even individual computers.

Its main objectives include the “automatic detection of threats and abnormal behaviour or violence”.

Project Indect, which received nearly £10 million in funding from the European Union, involves the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and computer scientists at York University, in addition to colleagues in nine other European countries.

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of human rights group Liberty, described the introduction of such mass surveillance techniques as a “sinister step” for any country, adding that it was “positively chilling” on a European scale.

The Indect research, which began this year, comes as the EU is pressing ahead with an expansion of its role in fighting crime, terrorism and managing migration, increasing its budget in these areas by 13.5% to nearly £900 million.

The European Commission is calling for a “common culture” of law enforcement to be developed across the EU and for a third of police officers – more than 50,000 in the UK alone – to be given training in European affairs within the next five years.

According to the Open Europe think tank, the increased emphasis on co-operation and sharing intelligence means that European police forces are likely to gain access to sensitive information held by UK police, including the British DNA database. It also expects the number of UK citizens extradited under the controversial European Arrest Warrant to triple.

Stephen Booth, an Open Europe analyst who has helped compile a dossier on the European justice agenda, said these developments and projects such as Indect sounded “Orwellian” and raised serious questions about individual liberty.

“This is all pretty scary stuff in my book. These projects would involve a huge invasion of privacy and citizens need to ask themselves whether the EU should be spending their taxes on them,” he said.

“The EU lacks sufficient checks and balances and there is no evidence that anyone has ever asked ‘is this actually in the best interests of our citizens?'”

“It’s dangerous enough at national level, but on a Europe-wide scale the idea becomes positively chilling.”

According to the official website for Project Indect, which began this year, its main objectives include “to develop a platform for the registration and exchange of operational data, acquisition of multimedia content, intelligent processing of all information and automatic detection of threats and recognition of abnormal behaviour or violence”.

It talks of the “construction of agents assigned to continuous and automatic monitoring of public resources such as: web sites, discussion forums, usenet groups, file servers, p2p [peer-to-peer] networks as well as individual computer systems, building an internet-based intelligence gathering system, both active and passive”.

York University’s computer science department website details how its task is to develop “computational linguistic techniques for information gathering and learning from the web”.

A separate EU-funded research project, called Adabts – the Automatic Detection of Abnormal Behaviour and Threats in crowded Spaces – has received nearly £3 million. Its is based in Sweden but partners include the UK Home Office and BAE Systems.

It is seeking to develop models of “suspicious behaviour” so these can be automatically detected using CCTV and other surveillance methods. The system would analyse the pitch of people’s voices, the way their bodies move and track individuals within crowds.

Project coordinator Dr Jorgen Ahlberg, of the Swedish Defence Research Agency, said this would simply help CCTV operators notice when trouble was starting.

“People usually don’t start to fight from one second to another,” he said. “They start by arguing and pushing each other. It’s not that ‘oh you are pushing each other, you should be arrested’, it’s to alert an operator that something is going on.

“If it’s a shopping mall, you could send a security guard into the vicinity and things [a fight] maybe wouldn’t happen.”

Open Europe believes intelligence gathered by Indect and other such systems could be used by a little-known body, the EU Joint Situation Centre (SitCen), which it claims is “effectively the beginning of an EU secret service”. Critics have said it could develop into “Europe’s CIA”.

The dossier says: “The EU’s Joint Situation Centre (SitCen) was originally established in order to monitor and assess worldwide events and situations on a 24-hour basis with a focus on potential crisis regions, terrorism and WMD-proliferation.

“However, since 2005, SitCen has been used to share counter-terrorism information.

“An increased role for SitCen should be of concern since the body is shrouded in so much secrecy.

“The expansion of what is effectively the beginning of an EU ‘secret service’ raises fundamental questions of political oversight in the member states.”

Superintendent Gerry Murray, of the PSNI, said the force’s main role would be to test whether the system, which he said could be operated on a countrywide or European level, was a worthwhile tool for the police.

“A lot of it is very academic and very science-driven [at the moment]. Our budgets are shrinking, our human resources are shrinking and we are looking for IT technology that will help us five years down the line in reducing crime and combating criminal gangs,” he said.

“Within this Project Indect there is an ethical board which will be looked at: is it permissible within the legislation of the country who may use it, who oversees it and is it human rights compliant.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Neurotech applications applied to Satellite cellphone tech and Wiifi will destroy all mental autonomy. If these things cover the brains of individuals, there will be no freedom anymore.

ARTICLE 8

That’s embarrassing! Bar Refaeli passes a woman in the street who is wearing the exact same leopard print trousers as her – by Kirsty Mccormack – PUBLISHED: 08:27 GMT, 6 September 2012 | UPDATED: 11:19 GMT, 6 September 2012

She’s used to be being made up to model in front of the cameras but when it comes to everyday life, Bar Refaeli is just like any other ordinary woman.

The 27-year-old Israeli star was spotted shopping with friends in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday wearing a pair of leopard-print trousers – but she wasn’t the only one.

As she strolled down the street, Refaeli walked past a woman who appeared to be wearing the exact same trousers as her, and a matching top.

That’s embarrassing! Bar Refaeli passes a woman in the street in Barcelona who is wearing the same pair of leopard-print trousers as her

However, as the the blonde passed the woman in the street she either didn’t notice her or wasn’t bothered about the fact that they were dressed almost identically.

Refaeli went from store to store with the group, she looked happy and relaxed and was no doubt grateful that she had decided to wear flats.

She teamed the animal print garment with a black loose vest and diamante sandals while shielding her eyes with a pair of sunglasses.
Not alone: The model was joined by friends as she perused the shops

Not alone: The model was joined by friends as she perused the shops

Effortlessly cool: The blonde teamed her animal print trousers with a black vest and a trilby hat

She completed her look with a large tasseled bag, which she wore across her body, and a brown trilby hat.

As she wandered around in the Spanish sunshine, Refaeli visited shops such as Zara, Caroline Herrera, El Corte and several lingerie shops.

Perhaps the model was feeling ready to pose in underwear again after a nasty rash left her feeling not so flawless at the weekend.
Shady lady: The Israeli star accessorised with black sunglasses and a large tasseled bag

Shady lady: The Israeli star accessorised with black sunglasses and a large tasseled bag

Refaeli shared a photo with her 301,692 followers on Twitter that showed the top of her thighs looking rather red.

The photo was accompanied by the caption: ‘The price of surfing with out a wetsuit :(‘

Having fun: The model admitted via her Twitter page that she loves Barcelona

The Israeli model is often spotted on the beach in her free time, and is obviously having a great time in Barcelona after also tweeting: ‘I LUV it here!’

It seems she and her friends may have also done some sightseeing as well as some shopping on Tuesday as she also posted a photo of herself in front of a glass window with an amazing view of the city behind her.

Not so flawless: Refaeli tweeted this photo of a rash on her legs after she went surfing without wearing a wetsuit

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The government flexes muscles subtly. They are saying they know everything and can replace everyone potentially. The issue is how many voters are part of the Orwellian abusers and how many are not who can vote out all offending MPs who allow the SS/Cold War Era KGB alphabet bureaus to behave like this. Not mere coincidence but worse . . .

The European Commission is drawing up plans for a “roadworthiness test” which would mean that all components had to conform with those which were on the car when it was first registered.

Motoring organisations have been warned by the Department for Transport that this “may prevent most modifications” and would apply to “many components and to all types of vehicle.”

It remained unclear last night whether this could extend to routine modifications such as fitting alloy wheels, for example, or bringing cars up to 21st century standards.

The move comes within months of the Government in Britain drawing up its own plans to exempt classic cars – those built before 1960 – from the MoT test altogether.

According to the latest official figures there are 162,000 cars on the road which are more than 50 years old, equivalent to 0.6 per cent of the total.

The Department for Transport believed that exempting them from the MoT was justified because classic cars were normally lovingly maintained and had a lower accident rate than newer models.

However according to the EU document “Vehicles of historic interest are supposed to conserve heritage of the époque they have been built”.

At the same time, the EU appears to believe that member states should be given the power to set their own standards for “specialised” vehicles, which is understood to include classic cars.

It is understood the DfT is seeking clarification of the EU plans which appear to make it impossible for owners of older cars to modify their vehicles to bring them up to modern safety standards.

Critics of the proposals described the EU plans as “unworkable”.

A DfT spokesman added: “We will challenge provisions that imply costs for Government, people or industry and seek to minimise these.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Again oppression of freedom to modify one’s own property. What is wrong with the EU? A car’s modification reflects personality of the owner and helps prevent crime by making vehicles easily distinguishable. what oppress something so useful? Which ‘Hitler’ is sitting on that law making body for vehicles? Vehicular modification should be a free-for-all if anything.

Sozopol, a small town on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, has become a Mecca for travelers with an interest in the supernatural, particularly vampire skeletons, Reuters reports.

Unearthing Vampire Remains

When archaeologists examined the ruins of a monastery in the area, they stumbled over two skeletons. The manner of burial suggests survivors of the deceased feared their return as vampires. The corpses were subsequently buried with rods through the chest — fastening them to the earth — in an effort to avoid the undead’s rising later. Vampire burials were not uncommon in Bulgaria or during the Middle Ages.

New Scientist reported in 2009 on the exhumation of an Italian skeleton purported to have belonged to a vampire. Falling victim to the plague during the Middle Ages, a woman was buried with a brick inserted in her mouth on Lazzaretto Nuovo Island. Authorities at the time believed that burying suspected vampires in this manner would prevent them from spreading the plague. Discovery News notes that medieval Ireland had a similar practice that nevertheless predated the plague’s advent. Unearthed remains there included two eighth-century skeletons that had large rocks forcibly inserted into their mouths prior to burial. It is unclear why the dead received this treatment. Scientists suggest that the corpses could have belonged to outcasts, individuals perceived as evil or local residents who died from an unknown illness.

Insurance against Vampirism

Researchers at New York’s SUNY Oneonta detail burial practices in Drawsko, Poland, where corpses of some children were buried with small coins placed on their bodies. These coins were thought to ward off evil spirits that would otherwise enter the bodies and reanimate the corpses. Risk factors for possession and reanimation included conception during a time consecrated by the church as holy, a relapse to nursing after complete weaning, the youngster’s rank in the birth order, and the presence of bodily deformities.

Could there be something to the Vampire Lore?

Is it possible that folks from the Middle Ages knew something we claim is not possible in modern society? Cornell University mathematicians took on the challenge to statistically prove or disprove the likelihood of vampires existing as a separate species. Considering the ease with which vampirism was thought to spread — hence the need for insurance or prevention — it makes sense that simple numbers would affirm or debunk the possibility of their existence. The researches arbitrarily assumed that the first vampire came to be in 1600 AD, fed once a month and turned its victim into another undead with the same characteristics. Taking into account census data for January 1, 1600, the number crunchers concluded that humankind would have been wiped out by June 1602.

Wrong. If a vampire feeds once a month, another undead would not be necessarily as smart as, or in a position to feed safely, will get caught, may starve to death, may be a good ‘faither’ and commit suicide, may simply dislike blood and unknowingly starve to death even while eating normally and die of organ failure . . . all of these reasons and a myriad of others (perhaps not having a heartbeat causes insanity and running amok to get killed) keeping numbers down even though immortal. That would mean that only 1% types could indulge a vampire lifestyle unaccounted for. That is why they have jails and death sentences. Everytime a death row inmate bites the dust, a meal is ready, blood collected, perhaps organs eaten etc.. Therefore, vampires can exist — nothing to do with the statistical model. This is of course a theory, but who knows that this is the case and that vampires are real?

Firm announces multi-million pound plan to launch new motor
Cash will upgrade the luxury car maker’s Midlands factory
Stars like David and Victoria Beckham expected to snap up new model
Minister calls investment ‘vote of confidence in British manufacturing’

Once derided by environmental groups as the ultimate gas-guzzling ‘Chelsea tractor’ Range Rover has cleaned up its act with its first ever super-green diesel-electric hybrid.

It aims to make the upmarket off-roader one of the cleanest and most fuel-efficient 4x4s on the road and is part of a major new £370million investment announced by Jaguar Land Rover, and marked with a star-studded gala tonight attended by Olympic gold medalists Victoria Pendleton and Greg Rutherford, Zara Philips, comedian Jimmy Carr and more.

The car-maker says it is the first time such technology has been used on a ‘true’ all-terrain off-roader.

Rugged: The new Range Rover was put through its paces in the desert ahead of its gala launch

All-terrain: The car maker says it is the first time such technology has been used on a ‘true’ all-terrain off-roader

Plush: The interior of the new Range Rover

And bosses say it will offer drivers ‘a better Business Class experience than British Airways.’

Thanks to an integral electric motor which boosts an already frugal new 3.0 litre V6 turbo-charged diesel engine, the luxury 4X4 will do 45 miles to the gallon and give out CO2 emissions as low as a family saloon. But it will still sprint rapidly from rest to 60mph in under seven seconds.

A serious weight-loss diet helped by an all-aluminium body and chassis has enabled it to shed 420kg – the equivalent of five adult occupants – boosting fuel economy and reducing pollution levels.
Zara Phillips at the Range Rover event
Victoria Pendleton at the Range Rover event

But its ‘green’ credentials don’t stop there. Half the lightweight but super-strong aluminium used in the car is recycled from nearly 29,000 drinks cans. And materials from 6,500 recycled plastic bottles are used in every vehicle to create components. It also has the latest ‘stop-start’ technology which cuts out the engine when it is idling to reduce fuel consumption and pollution.

And when it reaches the end of its life, some 85 per cent of the new Range Rover’s parts can be recycled.

Land Rover’s first ever ‘hybrid’ is part of the new fourth generation Range Rover line-up which was given a celebrity rock-star reception tonight at a special gala launch in London’s Richmond Park on a day which saw Jaguar Land Rover and Honda announce new investments totalling nearly £700million in their British factories.

Dire Straits pop musician and Range Rover owner Mark Knopfler was leading the celebrations with a concert to 500 guests including model Jodie Kidd and TV presenter Ferne Cotton.

The launch also coincided with a slight rise in UK car sales during August as the export-led motor industry again bucked the dismal economic trend.
Zara Philips and Mike Tindall at Land Rover event
Kirstie Allsopp at Range Rover gala

High profile fans: Zara Philips is pictured left with her husband, rugby star Mike Tindall, at the event, which was also attended by TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp, right

The Range Rover hybrid features a new 3.0litre V6 turbo-charged diesel engine linked to an electric motor and battery. The system captures motion energy generated when the car brakes and decelerates, stores it I the battery, and the release it to power the electric motor. This will either boost the diesel engine, or allow the car to travel under electric power only, to reduce fuel consumption and pollution.

Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern said the luxurious interior would offer an executive ‘business class’ experience: ‘When you think of Business Class you tend to think of British Airways. This is better than BA’

‘Luxurious’: The interior is designed to offer an executive ‘business class’ experience, according to design director Gerry McGovern

Icy conditions: The new model Range Rover is pictured tackling snow and ice

Conventional engines will also be offered on the range: the new and frugal 3.0 litre V6 diesel engine that will still manage 37 mpg on its own without the electric motor support; a 4.4 litre V8 diesel, and a powerful 5.0 litre supercharged V8 petrol engine that will propel it from rest to 60mph in just 5.4 seconds.

Jaguar land Rover bosses said the firm was ‘firing on all cylinders’ and pledged a big expansion of Land Rover models and sales as it embarks on ‘ambitious plans’ to ‘broaden’ its 4X4 footprint around the world.

The cash injection is to upgrade Land Rover’s factory at Solihull in the West Midlands.

Order books for the fourth-generation Range Rover begin this month for deliveries in January of the up-market off-roader whose prices will start from £71,295 rising to around £100,000.

1) quasi-green (75% to 50% non-recyclable AND *only* using fossil fuels) OR entirely non-recyclable and using solar or full green energy without fossil fuel (like those mostly plastic based solar cars)
2) semi-green 15% non-recyclable AND using fossil fuels only
3) 3/4 very-green (15% non-recyclable AND using DUAL fossil fuel/solar powered
4) full-green (100% recyclable AND without using fossil fuels using ONLY solar power – even if the vehicle is twice as long with 75% covered by solar panels . . . )
5) super-green ‘THE REAL’ *SUPER GREEN*, should be a vehicle that is : i) constructed from non-mine based materials (like wood for bodywork panels and even chassis, and 100% lacquer windows
ii) which ALSO uses clean energy to process the materials (i.e. no machines or electricity, all manpower based)
iii) is 100% recyclable (not 85%)
iv) 100% organic, and
v) *entirely fossil fuel free
vi) WITHOUT a single non-organic/chemical/artificial man-made component (i.e. no polymer infused rubbers etc..)

A young woman, who was sentenced to four years in prison after she stabbed to death an older man who sexually assaulted her, has many netizens on her side while some experts suggest she went too far and got what she deserves.

On May 28 last year, Xuan went to the Guangzhou railway station, where she met Yang, who was over 50 and worked as a porter, the Guangzhou-based New Express reported.

Xuan bought a ticket for Xiamen, Fujian Province, for next day, but had little money for a hotel room that night. Yang invited her to stay at his apartment in the city’s Yuexiu district.

Xuan told police that Yang sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave. Xuan grabbed a knife and planned to use it to “frighten Yang.”

Yang persisted with his assault, and during their scuffle Xuan first stabbed the man on his clavicle. When Yang tried to wrestle the knife away, the woman received a leg wound. She was able to regain control of the knife and stabbed Yang’s chest, neck and head. After Yang fell to the floor, Xuan continued to stab Yang until he stopped moving.

The court found that Xuan was justified in defending herself but committed intentional homicide by continuing to stab Yang after he fell to the ground.

Most online comments feel the sentence was too heavy and believe the woman had the right to defend herself. Some said her four-year sentence was incomprehensible.

A Chinese netizen “acesage” argued that people have to be law experts to know when they are protected by law and when they are breaking it.

Some law experts, who support the court, said that the woman was initially justified in defending herself but stabbing the man after he fell constituted an intention to kill him.

“When the man was unable to continue his attack, she attacked him,” Qu Xinjiu, a criminal law professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.

However, Chen Tao, a lawyer with the Criminal Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, said the sentence was too heavy as Xuan could not judge whether Yang could still attack her, adding that Xuan should have been given a suspended sentence.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A rape for a rape. A life for a life. To kill for rape is inequitable. The family members of the murder victim who raped have a right to take the life of the killer. The rapist could be raped back or done something equally unpleasant as rape at most. 4 years is extreme lenience, emotional losses notwithstanding though the final decision should lie with the family of the deceased.

ARTICLE 13

BREAKING NEWS: What Taco Bell calls beef may not actually be beef – Posted by drocolate on January 25th, 2011

This is an exciting story so I’m going to launch right into it. I’m so proud of Alabama, and I don’t feel that way very often.

A law firm in Montgomery, Alabama called Beasley Allen recently filed a lawsuit against fast food giant Taco Bell claiming that the beef in their products is not technically beef at all. The lawsuit claims that the beef in your fourth meal Chalupa is only 36% ground beef, which falls under the USDA beef requirement of 40%.

Now, before I move on, I want that to sink in. The USDA has created a standard for what qualifies as “real meat” in our country and that standard is a paltry (not poultry) 40%. And according to some brave litigators in Bama, Taco Bell is somehow missing this extremely low mark.

It’s like Taco Bell is a nine-foot-tall dude who can’t dunk. It’s ridiculous.

Beasley Allen goes on in their lawsuit to say that the beef is not meat at all but should actually be called “taco meat filling” instead. The law firm is setting out to either force Taco Bell to increase their beefishness levels or stop dropping the B word when describing their offerings.

Obviously, Taco Bell is not cool with this because who wants to eat something called the “Seasoned Taco Meat Filling Grilled Stuft (their spelling, not mine) Burrito”? Well, actually I’m sure some people would still eat it.

We do live in a post-Double Down world after all.
My recent history with Taco Bell.

This is as good a time as any to recount my most recent Taco Bell visit, and the events that followed it.

Let me warn my readers that if you have a weak stomach you may want to close this window now. If you’re not a little bitch, however, then read on.

A few months ago, on the day before my birthday, I decided to grab some Taco Bell for dinner. I was on my way to meet some friends and I wanted to get a quick meal in me before the night kicked off. I ordered a Mexican Pizza and two Taco Supremes (or would that be Tacos Supreme?). All three of these items contained a hearty amount of …uhhhh… beef. I ate them and felt satisfied.

But then the night moved forward.

And as it did I noticed some discomfort in my tummy. The Taco Bell didn’t seem to be digesting. Instead it felt as though it were growing steadily. Imagine eating a football whole. That’s what it felt like.

A few hours went by and my health continued to plummet. Finally, I said goodbye to my friends and switched my focus to getting home and sleeping off whatever Taco Bell demons I had absorbed. I got in my car and set a course for my humble abode.

Unfortunately, the taco meat filling in my stomach had other plans.

About five minutes after leaving my friends the pain in my gut became so great that I had to pull over for fear that I might pass out. As soon as I pulled the car over and turned it off my body took that as a cue to evacuate all of the contents of my stomach. Thankfully, the first burst was a dry heave. This gave me ample time to swing the door open and get out.

That’s when I ruined my shoes.

I don’t think I need to get into the details so I’ll just say that I puked. A lot. And after puking I felt magically better. It was as though I had swallowed some poison and HAD to get it out of my body by any means necessary to continue living.

My personal opinion since then has been that Taco Bell equals poison. So today, when two friends sent me a link to this story I knew I had to report on it. It was my duty, as both a citizen journalist AND a fake beef consumption victim.

Oh, and one final fun note about this tale: When I got back into my car, sporting vomit soaked white Vans (Mmmmm…) and uber-halitosis I looked over at the clock and it read 12:04.

Vomiting on the side of the road was the first thing I had done on my birthday.
So, what now?

Beasley Allen is holding strong on their lawsuit, despite threats from Taco Bell of a countersuit. And since this story hit the Web today they are bound to get A LOT more attention now than they may have ever bargained for.

But I want to go beyond the lawsuit. I want to know what’s actually in this taco meat filling.

But all of those extenders are in there in addition to a beef percentage Taco Bell claims is at 40%. But what if it’s actually at 36%, as the lawsuit claims?

What the hell is that 4%?

Here are my official guesses:

Styrofoam BBs
Asbestos
Shredded pieces of marketing and/or creative briefs (cause there’s no way the advertising agencies that put out shit like THIS ever used either)
Horse feces
Minced bits of unsold Gorditas from the previous week
Dog
Mexican cartel murder victims (where do you think they all disappear to? Think about it.)

I invite you to enter your own guesses in the comments below. And please don’t eat at Taco Bell. Smoke a cigarette instead. You just might live longer, and you’ll vomit less.
Spread the Word:

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

That should probably be the case for all other fast food franchise foods as well. Maybe the chicken is made from reconstituted bone and 60% filler meat as well, coated in ‘edible’ plastic ‘crispy’ ‘chicken skin’ . . .

Exposed: A racy image showing a woman in a purple lingerie slip with her nipple exposed on the Sears website has added to a growing backlash against the retail giant

Racy product: An woman in a lingerie slip with her nipple exposed on the Sears website has added to a backlash against the retail giant

A racy image showing a woman in a purple lingerie slip with her nipple exposed on the Sears website has been republished by amused internet forum users, adding to a growing backlash against the retail giant.

The embarrassed department store quickly removed the product, which was filed under its Exotic Apparel, and Lingerie and Sets sections for $25.99, however not fast enough for users to take screen grabs of the original link.

While reactions from users swayed from nostalgic amusement over old Sears catalogues, to outraged consumers who found the ‘inappropriate’ material offensive, the nudity slip-up comes just months after the American Family Association accused the retail giant of ‘selling smut.’

While many family-oriented commenters have shown their outrage, several customers, both male and female, have said they find it ‘refreshing’ that the sheer lingerie product was shown accurately as being see-through.

One male user wrote: ‘I hate it when they airbrush out the nipples. I accidentally bought something that was see-through for my girlfriend and she was less than amused and did not believe it was an accident.

‘I didn’t know “sheer” was, I thought it meant smooth or something to do with wind sheer,’ he added.

Another female user wrote: ‘I always have to wonder why we think nudity is such a big deal. It’s a breast, half the world has them.

‘It really just goes over my head as to why (specifically in the U.S.) we are cool with graphic depictions of death and torture (eg Saw) but a video with two people having sex is totally unacceptable. It boggles my mind every time.’

The offending lingerie slip is not actually a Sears product however, it came from a reseller named Fright Depot.

Sears, which uses the same concept as other e-commerce sites like Amazon, allows marketplace sellers to list their own stock through the department store’s website.

One user explained: ‘I seem to recall something inappropriate [from a reseller] with Dora the Explorer popping up a few months back.’

And according to the American Family Association, Sears has been selling ‘giant posters of total nud**y’ under its home section of Wall Decor and Art, as well as books on bestiality and pedophilia, from outside vendors.

The Association wrote: ‘Generations of Americans have grown up with Sears, through the catalogs, retail stores and, of late, website. But a family organization now is raising a protest because alongside the appliance, electronics, jewelry and fitness categories… one line of items for sale features explicit nudity.’
Embarrassed: The department store quickly removed the product, which was filed under its Exotic Apparel, and Lingerie and Sets sections for $25.99, however not fast enough for users to take screen grabs of the original link

Embarrassed: The department store quickly removed the product, which was filed under its Exotic Apparel, and Lingerie and Sets sections for $25.99, however not fast enough for users to take screen grabs of the original link

After a ‘Sears Action Alert’ from the AFA and One Million Moms (the group who loudly spoke out against recent gay marriage advocacy ads from JC Penney and Forever 21), Sears apparently assured it was updating filtering equipment and enforcing strict guidelines to prevent sexually explicit products being available on its website.

However Monica Cole, the director of One Million Moms, wrote in July this year: ‘Less than two months after Sears’ latest promise in May 2012, the pornography has returned. Sears continues to offend their customers with nudity in ads for the posters they sell and the naughty lingerie.’

After customers complained directly to Sears in July, they were told that the offending items were being removed. A customer service email response said, ‘Our agreements with our vendors prohibit content that is pornographic or sexually explicit in nature.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

That advert is so unsexual. Also everyone has nipples, whats so sexual about an obviously aesthetic female nipple (there are also less than aesthetic ones that can cause offense and should not be exposed) in this discrimination free, gender equality normalised day? Is the male or female version any different? How the person poses the organs and the expression is more important. THIS is a static picture of a healthy and sexually viable female adult in a demure mood. Whats happened to all the people in England? Fundo got them? One spanking by a school marm too many? Look at the nudists AND the smaller types of bikini. Only fundos or prudes would take offense at this advert. Either self control too weak, or just socialised into body negativism. Looking at healthy bodies of people posing alone AND clothed (skimpy is still clothed, not even nude!), Lingerie adverts are not the same as sexual acts, which should have their own allotted areas as well being so popular among the younger and more adventurous and sexual set. Actually strippers at pole clubs are not really even sexual, being a ‘no touching’ sort of entertainment.

NEW: “This makes me sick to my stomach,” actress says
Casting call advertisement describes the movie as an “adventure film”
A Florida pastor who burned a Quran says he was asked to distribute the film

(CNN) — The 80 cast and crew members involved in the making of the movie that has roiled much of the Islamic world said Wednesday they were “grossly misled” about its intent and expressed sorrow over the resulting violence.

“The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer,” they said in a statement to CNN about the movie, “Innocence of Muslims.”

“We are 100% not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose,” continued the statement, which was sent to CNN by a member of the production staff who asked not to be identified for security reasons. “We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred.”

Mystery swirls around anti-Islam film

Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed Tuesday in Libya amid a regional furor over the film, which mocks Islam’s prophet.

A casting call published in July 2011 in Backstage magazine and in other publications for actors identifies the working title of the movie as “Desert Warrior” and describes it as a “historical Arabian Desert adventure film.”

An actress in the film who asked not to be identified said the original script did not include a Prophet Muhammed character. She added that she and other actors complained that their lines had been changed.

The actress said she spoke Wednesday with the producer, who is identified in the advertisement as Sam Bassiel. “He said he wrote the script because he wants the Muslims to quit killing,” she said. “I had no idea he was doing all this.”
Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
Obama, Romney spar over Libya response
Questions surround incendiary Islam film
Feinstein: I think this is premeditated

“I would never be involved in a film to ever hurt or bring harm to anybody,” she told CNN. “This makes me sick to my stomach to think that I was involved in that movie that brought death to somebody else.”

The actress said the character of Muhammed in the movie was identified as George when it was shot, and that she returned afterward and read other lines that may have been dubbed into the piece.

YouTube restricts video access over Libyan violence

A member of the production staff who worked directly on the film and has a copy of the original script corroborated the actor’s account, adding that it mentions neither Muhammed nor Islam.

The Wall Street Journal identified the filmmaker as Sam Bacile, an Israeli-American real estate developer. The Journal reported that, in its telephone interview with Bacile, he characterized his film as “a political effort to call attention to the hypocrisies of Islam.”

“Islam is a cancer,” he told the newspaper. “The movie is a political movie. It’s not a religious movie.”

CNN has not been able to contact Bacile and cannot verify that he made the movie. A CNN search of public records on Sam Bacile came up empty.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it doesn’t know who Bacile is.

Reaction: Libya, West condemn killing

“This guy is totally anonymous. At this point no one can confirm he holds Israeli citizenship and even if he did we are not involved,” ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. “No Israeli institution, government department or office has any involvement in this. This guy acted on his own behalf.”

In Egypt and Libya, mobs targeted U.S. missions and blamed America for the film. In the end, Stevens and three other Americans in the Libyan city of Benghazi were dead, although it was not clear whether that attack was solely incited by the film.

Consultant Steve Klein told CNN he worked with Bacile on the movie and said the filmmaker had gone into hiding.
McCain: ‘Their enemies are our enemies’

Wolf Blitzer reports on deaths in Libya

“He’s very depressed, and he’s upset,” Klein said Wednesday. “I talked to him this morning, and he said that he was very concerned for what happened to the ambassador.”

Klein, however, said it was not the film’s fault that protests had turned bloody.

Casting further doubt on the filmmaker’s identity, The Atlantic quoted Klein as saying Sam Bacile is a pseudonym and “he did not know Bacile’s real name.” CNN could not immediately reach Klein for his response to that report.

An online trailer for the film depicts Islam as a fraudulent religion bent on getting rid of nonbelievers.

Cartoonish scenes show Muhammed as a womanizer, child molester and ruthless killer. Other scenes show security forces ordered to do nothing as rampaging Muslims destroy Christian homes, and a donkey anointed the first Muslim animal.

Many Muslims find any depiction of Muhammed to be offensive — a Danish newspaper’s publication in 2005 of Mohammed caricatures triggered riots — and derogatory depictions of the prophet are considered by some to be worse.

“The film is offensive to the prophet and immoral,” said Egyptian Prime Minister Hashem Kandil. “We call on the great people of Egypt to exercise restraint when expressing their anger.”

Muslim sensitivities around Prophet Mohammed

The prime minister called on the United States to take legal action against the makers of the film, though it was not clear that it violates any U.S. law.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Bacile said he raised $5 million from about 100 Jewish donors to make the two-hour movie in California last year. Based on the trailer, the movie appears to have been produced on a low budget.

The movie, which was posted in July on YouTube, got more notice after Egyptian television recently aired segments and anti-Islam activists, including Egyptian-born Coptic Christian Morris Sadek, promoted it online.

Terry Jones, the Florida pastor whose Quran-burning last year sparked deadly riots in Afghanistan, said he had been contacted to help distribute the film.

“The film is not intended to insult the Muslim community, but it is intended to reveal truths about Muhammed that are possibly not widely known,” Jones said.

“It is very clear that God did not influence him (Muhammed) in the writings of the Quran,” said Jones, who went on to blame Muslims’ fear of criticism for the protests, rather than the film.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Jones on Wednesday to ask him to withdraw his support for the film, according to Col. David Lapan, Dempsey’s spokesman.

“Jones’ support of the film risks causing more violence and death,” Lapan said.

Tensions mounted Wednesday as the United States deployed Marines to Libya.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood — the former party of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy — has called for peaceful protests against the film on Friday, Islam’s day of religious observance.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban charged that the movie was made with the permission of the U.S. government. The First Amendment prohibits the government from interfering with free expression.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the film as abhorrent and an act of desecration. “There could be many deaths once news of this video and Pastor Terry Jones’ comments get out,” said Karzai’s deputy spokesman.

The issue is sensitive in Afghanistan, where throngs of people this year protested NATO’s burning of Qurans at Bagram Airfield. U.S. President Barack Obama said the act was unintentional, but the uproar nonetheless was huge.

In America, a Muslim advocacy group called the movie “trashy” and said its producers represented neither the United States nor the Christian faith.

“We urge that this ignorant attempt to provoke the religious feelings of Muslims in the Arabic-speaking world be ignored and that its extremist producers not be given the cheap publicity they so desperately seek,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Facebook sprouted several pages dedicated to condemning the film, including one called “Israelis, Jews & Americans Against Sam Bacile’s ‘Innocence of Muslims’ Film.”

The Muslims should have made an equally stinging documentary in response. This only gives the West an excuse to brand Muslims as violent uncivilised people instead of artful ‘Film-Fighters’. What more the embassy which us internationally neutral and Christopher Stevens and three other Americans who died but were not responsible in any way though probably supportive, worsens the indictment. All involved should think about the family of the deceased, and try to make amends if that is even possible. Meanwhile the only retaliation here can only be in like kind – a film in response, not uncivilised mobs, violence and murder.

A life for a life, a film for a film, and now the Muslims owe ‘the West’ even more, ruined the reputation of Islam even more, if this is even spontaneous and not a CIA subversion plot where the members of the diplomatic corps were sacrificed to make Muslims look bad . . . Muslims should consider the spaces for non-Muslims and to practice some self control. If God and God’s law means so much, then ‘4 lives of UN treaty protected people AND a burnt embassy (a undefilable bastion of civilisation) for a mere film.’ is a sin and damning act for sure. Unjustifiable and inequitable! Don’t Muslims think things through before acting? The West attacks with films, Muslims kill and burn embassies. Who’s the barbarian? Who thinks Hudud amputations are civilised? Little wonder the rampant Islamophobia, is this what the Prophet wanted?

ARTICLE 16

Naked Rambler jailed AGAIN as Scottish court brands him ‘self-indulgent and arrogant’ for refusing to get dressed and go back to England – By Larisa Brown and Sam Adams – PUBLISHED: 14:03 GMT, 13 September 2012 | UPDATED: 15:33 GMT, 13 September 2012

Stephen Gough found guilty of breaching the peace after strolling naked near swing park where children were playing
Arrest in July came just three days after he had been freed from prison in Perth, 30 miles to the north
Former marine remained naked throughout his trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff’s Court in Fife
He has been jailed for five months for breaching the peace

Naked Rambler Stephen Gough – who has spent years in solitary confinement in a Scottish jail – was branded arrogant and self-indulgent by a sheriff after refusing to get dressed and go home to England.

Gough, from Hampshire, was brought into a draughty courtroom naked but for a pair of handcuffs today to be quizzed on why he had refused social work and psychiatric help.

The ex-marine was jailed for five months at Kirkcaldy Sheriff’s Court, Fife, for committing a breach of the peace.

Gough arrives at John O’ Groats in 2004 after completing a 900-mile walk naked. Over the course of the journey Gough was arrested numerous times

He was found guilty of the offence last month after strolling naked near a swing park where children were playing in Dunfermline, also in Fife, and refusing to put on clothes.

Sentence had been deferred for social workers to assess whether he needed psychiatric intervention.

His arrest in July came just three days after he had been freed from prison in Perth, 30 miles to the north, after spending six years in solitary for previous offences involving nakedness.
Gough, 53, who insists he is not a naturist and claims his naked rambles are ‘a protest,’ was initially removed from the dock after only five minutes when he refused to sit down so his privates were hidden by the wooden dock.

He said: ‘I just want to be treated like anybody else.’

After he was brought back in, and agreed to sit, the court heard he had refused to meet social workers and so no assessment was available.

Prosecutor Brian Robertson said the Crown was prepared to help him go back to England if he co-operated.

Mr Robertson said: ‘The authorities are prepared to facilitate his return home if his behaviour doesn’t cause alarm to the public.’

Pictured behind bars in the nude: Gough leaving Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in July. He decided to represent himself rather than have a solicitor at his trial

Determined: Gough (pictured here with his girlfriend Melanie Roberts) has been jailed for five months for committing a breach of the peace

Sheriff James Williamson told Gough, who has refused legal representation, said that he was concerned that he had not met or co-operated with social workers drawing up the background report ordered.

The sheriff said: ‘Will you meet with them and assist them?’

When Gough responded, ‘No, not really’, Sheriff Williamson said he had been left with no choice but to jail him for five months.

The sentence was backdated until July 20th, the date of his arrest, meaning Gough will be freed again before Christmas.

If he wins 50 percent time off for good behaviour – unlikely unless he drops his protest – he could be out in three weeks.

He is likely to serve his sentence in Edinburgh’s tough Saughton Prison.

Sheriff Williamson told Gough he realised his motives for refusing to get dressed were not ‘sinister,’ but slammed him for his refusal to co-operate with the preparation of a social background report.

He said: ‘I had hoped it [the report] would assist me in dealing with you without sending you back to prison – but you leave me no choice.

‘The police officers who arrested you told you that if you carried on your journey you would pass a playground occupied by children.

Unshaven: Gough pictured in July as he arrived at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after being arrested for walking around naked

‘You were given three options – one, change direction, two, cover your private parts, or three, enter a police van which would take you around the playpark and release you on your way at the other side.

‘Despite that, you refused, which showed disregard for other members of the public, in particular children who have the right not to see naked men.

‘It shows arrogance.

‘That self-indulgence carries on today.

‘I have no other alternative option but to impose a custodial sentence.’

Gough, of Chamberlain Road, Eastleigh, Hampshire, now has 18 convictions for nakedness.

He first achieved notoriety during a naked walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2003.

He went on to be repeatedly arrested and jailed for walking naked, and refusing to get dressed.

He had tasted only minutes of freedom – usually being re-arrested at the prison gates for being naked – until his release from on July 17th.

Earlier this month Gough’s former partner Alison Ward, the mother to his two children, Kiana, 16 and Yarin, 14, said she could not comprehend why he had given up family life, and knowing his children, simply to walk around naked.

She said: ‘I don’t think Steve is a bad person, but he’s made bad decisions.

‘I feel very sad for him, for what he’s given up.

‘He lost his relationship with me. He has two beautiful children who are a real joy, but he hasn’t been a father to them.

‘The price he’s paid for his determination to go naked is too high.

‘When I told Steve, ‘You can’t see the kids if you’re going to go naked’, he said, ‘Right, I won’t see them.

‘He chose his cause over his children and he’s continued to do so.’

A Crown Office spokesman said: ‘The actions of the accused made his arrest and prosecution necessary.

‘Mr Gough intentionally caused shock and alarm to children and their parents.

‘The evidence in this case clearly established that despite repeated police requests not to do so, he was determined to deliberately walk naked past a busy children’s play-park in Fife.

‘He knew that in doing so he would provoke anger and upset.

The sheriff held that his conduct constituted the crime of breach of the peace.’

The spokesman said the police had gone to great lengths to to preven further offences being committed by Mr Gough.

‘For example,’ he said, ‘on release from HMP Edinburgh in 2007, police officers offered to take Gough to an address of his choosing in Yorkshire.

‘Although he originally agreed to go with them, he changed his mind and attempted to walk from the prison along the A71 when he was arrested again.

‘The authorities are prepared to facilitate his return home providing his behaviour does not, as in the current case, cause public alarm and necessitate arrest to protect the public.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Zoning please, or at least exile/restrict-residence this Gough character to a nudist colony.

Okay. To prevent some far sweaty psycho, or sick rich kid from killing out of boredom, would any of the post millenial scene kids be willing to play the part of fetish victim for a 401K? This should be under clear contracts with legal protections, social awareness AND acceptance, etc.. Same for the would be pedos and their ‘child impersonator’ escorts and madams as detailed above. Wealth distribution buyr not at extreme levels yet preventive of psychosis at some level or other. A single fetish/porn personae is a lightning rod for negatuve energies to the power of many times.

The psychiatric establishment should look at organic methods, not drugging into oblivion which will instead discharge that energy into the astral/ethereal or ionosphere(quakes and tornadoes!), instead of some simple (albeit) ‘not for everyone’, acrivities like bdsm or RLD or what not. The universe is diverse, and man’s activity is impossible to contain in a Victorian/fundo setting without offending the Universe and OTHER inhabitants across the dimensions of time and reality. Consent between 2 individuals OVERIDES ANY AND ALL *MANMADE* LAWS by others who do not know or will never understand the individuals involved. This is the spirit of law basis behind the LGBT Rights or BDSM Rights or even ‘Consensual Cannibal/Consensual-Prey’ Rights activity that must be understood or that energy will destroy the planet in time, if not attract very angry and powerful entities or who knows space faring races. Those who cannot reconcile ALL AND SUNDRY, much less make biased and narrow 3rd world communal value judgments on others sentients and sapients, have no business administering at any level in government much less write a single law, or be a judge in any court.

For €100, students are taught the history of the world’s oldest profession and how to use erotic toys
Venture has attracted much criticism in the predominantly Catholic country

A Spanish firm offering a professional course in prostitution which it says ‘guarantees a job offer on graduation,’ has survived its first legal challenge to be closed down.

For €100, students are taught the history of the world’s oldest profession, how to use erotic toys and the most popular positions contained within the Kama Sutra.

The school began advertising the course in May, but within weeks the Valencian regional government filed a case with prosecutors, alleging that the school promoted prostitution, which is illegal in Spain

‘They know what they are getting into’ says course instructor Brandon has been running the one-week course for eight years

But yesterday prosecutors said there was not any evidence that a criminal offence had been committed because advertisements for students did not promote prostitution, constitute fraud and were not aimed at minors, reported The Times.

The venture has attracted much criticism in the predominantly Catholic country, with many saying it is the wrong way to tempt cash-strapped Spaniards back into work.

But the Valencian firm, which flooded the city’s university campus with promotional flyers, says it will make the trade safer.

It will also ensure budding sex-workers will not fall foul of the law, with in depth descriptions of the industry’s laws and how to work around them.

Brandon, who has run the one-week course for eight years, said: ‘They will know what they are getting in to.
C99K9H Prostitute in a car park close to the customer’s car

World’s oldest trade: The Valencian firm, which flooded the city’s university campus with promotional flyers, says it will make the trade safer

‘Prostitution is a career that many people live off from day to day, whether they are single or have a partner.’

He added that 95 people, from the age of 19 to 45, had signed up to the diploma – which takes up two hours each day.

And, once they graduate, they receive their first job offer – to become a teacher in the ‘school’ where they can help in practical classes.

What they learn in the series of theory and practical classes will enable them to ‘earn a lot of money, very easily and quickly’, according to the ABC newspaper.

Esther Lopez Barcelo, a United Left MP in Valencia, said the party was considering appealing the ruling.

Sex is a multibillion-pound industry in Spain, with colourfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country.

This school needs to set up franchises/branches in adult industry law friendly, RLD friendly countries which is any first world country. Instead of looking at these people as ‘weird; or ‘odd’, an advocate of sex positivism and sexual diversity, one ‘Mr Tashiro’ said: ‘People have different ways of gratifying themselves and enriching their lives. Having tolerance for diversity is a good thing.’ ‘In the U.S., we tend to culturally talk less openly about sexual activity, especially when it falls outside the normal range of sexual behavior,‘ he added.

While those who view themselves as different ‘tend to keep it to themselves,’ they are far more open when researchers ask anonymously. ‘There really is a great range,’ he said.

The following women are not attractive to Donald Trump: Angelina Jolie (“She’s been with so many guys”), Cher (“bad plastic surgery”), Rosie O’Donnell (“big, fat pig”), and now, Arianna Huffington.

On Wednesday, Trump used his Twitter account to call the internet powerhouse “unattractive both inside and out.” He went on to attack her marriage, which ended in an amicable divorce.

“I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man-he made a good decision,” Trump added in less than 140 characters.

It’s not the first time he’s publicly judged a successful female media figure by her looks and intimate life, and it probably won’t be the last.

Trump’s world seems to be divided into three categories. Women he finds attractive. Women he doesn’t find attractive. And Men. It’s not so different from a Miss USA pageant, only “contestants” like Huffington don’t ask to be entered.

Huffington smartly refused to take the bait and refrained from responding, possibly avoiding another drawn out Trump vs. Barbara Walters feud.

In the past, both male and female columnists at major media outlets have labeled Trump “a sexist dinosaur,” with “a legacy of unapologetically gleeful misogyny.” These days nobody’s wasting words trying to prove that point, when Trump seems to do the job all on his own. Here are some of the

gems from the mouth of a modern day caveman:

“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”
-From his book How to Get Rich.

“So when he had plenty of money, she liked him…But then after that, not as good, right?”
-In response to an Access Hollywood interview question on Anne Hathaway’s split from her jailed ex-boyfriend.

“I’ll send one of my friends to pick up her girlfriend and I think it would be very easy.”
-On Rosie O’Donnell and his own mysteriously beguiling friends, as reported by The New York Daily News.

“She does have a very nice figure . . . if [she] weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
-On his daughter, Ivanka, during a interview on the The View.

“You look very good, Aubrey, I have to say, Do you mind if I say? Is that sexist?”
-On Aubrey O’Day’s boardroom appearance during an episode of The Apprentice.

“The early victories by women on The Apprentice were to a very large extent dependent on their sex appeal.”
-On women’s success on The Apprentice, from How to Get Rich.

“I believe we’re all equal except women still have to try harder and they know it. They will do what they have to do to get the job done and will not necessarily be demure about it.”
-More on women’s success, from How to Get Rich.

“Oftentimes when I was sleeping with one of the top women in the world I would say to myself, thinking about me as a boy from Queens, ‘can you believe what I am getting?'”
-On former romantic partners, from Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life.

“Beauty and elegance, whether in a woman, a building, or a work of art is not just superficial or something pretty to see.”
-On inanimate objects and women, from Trump 101: The Way to Success

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive].”
-On media zen and women’s body parts, from a 1991 Esquire interview.

Any ‘unapologetically gleeful misogyny’ is only for and usable by alpha males. Even wealthy betas like Bill Gates do not, or dare not use ‘unapologetically gleeful misogyny’. And due to socialised pressure, the alpha male is an increasingly rare species these days.

Good role model for those able to fathom this guy or where this guy is coming from but physicality wise, doubtful could take on Putin (more Trump is more Alpha Slick than Alpha Hardman, even as some of us are only mindset based Alpha Minor . . . ), though mindset wise probably on same standing. Both of these guys though lack beards (Alpha Major) . . . in any case, the real alpha males should set up the last international Gentlemen’s Club before the whole Alpha-male type/meme disappears . . . Club Alpha or Alpha Club, for “Playboy/Hustler/Penthouse/Miss World loving”, full bearded, hairy (thanks JB or was that DM . . . ), lantern jawed, bald from too much testosterone (not anything else though), Hells Angel type club joining, Car Modding, gladiatorial game playing, bull riding/fighting, male f—ing (females too delicate, would break . . . try this for hyper masculinity lol!), 2nd amendment loving, alcohol swilling, organic drug taking males only.

The rest of the slack jawed f@99ot, PC, metrosexual types are for alpha females unable to find alpha males (betas females are best for beta males if a Matriarchy is not intended . . . ), OR alpha females socially twisted into ‘Lordosis’ ‘male bashing’ or accidental same-sex (socialised m2m or f2f are incidental not genetic, so differentiate to avoid much grief and regret later on) type behaviour. So would alpha females serious enough get that lab to grow a penis and a pair (set of testicles) with. But don’t go around subverting already estrogenized metro-males who are no challenge even as no females could ever be larger than the largest male or more ethical than the most ‘testosteronized’ males . . .

“She’s been with so many guys (of Angelina Jolie)” . . . never really looked at this from that angle. Thanks Trump! It’s informed now! Now how about running for Governor or even President to change some laws for the 99%? Back to the Future 2 (Robert Zemeckis 1989) cannot occur without Trump on the scene! ‘Biff” (Thomas F. Wilson)’s an Alpha!

Todd Akin and the Second Sex – Posted by Judith Thurman – August 27, 2012

Naw, just demogoguery, Todd wouldn’t rape a fly . . . or was that the other way around . . . ugh . . . anyway too many GOPs should be dropped for term limitlessness if not crony capitalism . . .

Simone de Beauvoir’s foundational treatise on gender inequality, “The Second Sex,” was published in France in 1949, a year after the author—a thirty-eight-year-old public intellectual—was allowed to vote for the first time. French women, so belatedly enfranchised, would not have access to legal birth control until 1967, or to legal first-trimester abortions until 1975.

In 1971, Beauvoir took the lead in her countrywomen’s struggle for reproductive rights. She wrote a declaration, “The Manifesto of 343,” that exposed her and her fellow-signers—some of France’s leading female artists, actors, writers, jurists, and filmmakers—to criminal prosecution. (It also exposed them to degrading ridicule of a now-familiar sort. Forty years before Rush Limbaugh aired his repulsive fantasies about Sandra Fluke, the declaration was nicknamed “The Manifesto of the 343 Sluts.”)

“One million women in France have an abortion every year,” Beauvoir’s declaration began. “Condemned to secrecy, they have them in dangerous conditions…. These women are veiled in silence. I declare that I am one of them. I have had an abortion.”

Not all of the women who signed Beauvoir’s manifesto had actually had an abortion. Some of them, like Violette Leduc, the lesbian writer, may never have had sex with a man. The point was to stand together on behalf of the “veiled.” And in 1971, I was one of the veiled. I was a single woman just out of college, far from home, living marginally, without a partner, who found herself pregnant.

It is sometimes hard to remember that abortion has not been a crime in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided, in 1973. If politicians like Todd Akin and Paul Ryan prevail, it will be a crime again, under all circumstances, along with some forms of contraception that can spare women from a hard choice that they have to live with, one way or another, for the rest of their lives.

Akin disgraced himself as a benighted zealot by blathering about “legitimate rape,” but it’s a mistake, I think, to focus one’s outrage on the trauma of rape and incest victims, on teen-age girls of severely limited mental capacity who are conned by predators, or on patients who have been told by their physicians that a full-term pregnancy may kill them. Forcing such women to bear a child violates their integrity in a barbaric fashion—it rapes them twice.

But most women who seek abortions do not fall into those categories. They are our neighbors, daughters, sisters, granddaughters, and colleagues. They come in every size and color. They are rich and poor. They are Republicans and Democrats. They are churchgoers and atheists. They are married, single, and divorced. Some ardently want a family—when the time is right. Some of them have children already. But they have this in common: at some point between the onset of puberty and the end of menopause—and one neither wants nor needs to know the circumstances, it is none of our business—they had a sexual encounter that resulted in an accidental conception, and they couldn’t go through with it.

Here is where the Akin uproar leads us to perilous ground. “Legitimate rape” (or “forcible rape,” as the Congressman put it in his apology for having “misspoke”) is a coded expression that everyone in its target audience understands. It conjures the image of a Victorian maiden ravished by a villain in a cloak and a top hat, twirling his mustache as she flails on the railroad tracks (hey writer you forgot the Mr.Peanut brand type Monocle . . . ) . It implies that there are “legitimate” victims—and only certifiably “pure” women fall into that category. Everyone else had it coming.

“The Second Sex” is an exhaustive study of the ways that misogyny has, from time immemorial, been disguised as righteousness. Todd Akin and Paul Ryan want to write a new chapter to the story. If you are saved, you need not fear their policies. If you are fallen, you will pay the price. They would lower the veil of shame and silence on a new generation. But if we let this become a debate about female virtue, rather than about female self-determination, we have lost it.

One generation ahead of ya Todd . . .

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Todd does not speak the language of ‘occultism’ and nor do those attacking Todd. The *body* and the *spirit* are different ‘people’. A rapist rapes ONLY when the spirit in the woman allows or calls to the spirit in the man (this is how Burkha clad women who cannot even be seen are even raped to begin with), OR the spirit of the rapist is not in control. Todd Akin is not to be blamed for the clumsy language use, ‘Legitimate’ means Spirit to Spirit, nothing else . . . this is not a commonly broached subject in society where spirit and brain are seperate leading to all kinds of abuses in the name of ‘mental health’ to enable the culling from society people aware of the differences between spirit and brain (the feminazis, demogogues and psychiatric establishment, also henpecked male politicians, collude on this one to take out as many right minded people as possible . . . this comes from experience . . . ). But needs to take up some language and ‘spirit of language’ courses. The viciousness directed against Todd though is inequitable. Todd dropping semi-wonky language from lack of training means nothing about character and ONLY the same could be done back to Todd. Not threats of AIDS infected rape or drowning.

Todd Akin most probably does not have interest in raping anyone (even if Todd does, he’d have too much to lose by doing so, makes no sense), we also do know that to even become a Congressman, the discipline needs to be there, especially for 2 terms limited types not drunk with power for decades. As for mysogyny factor, so long as there is no intent to hurt anyone, and if all persons subject to mysogyny are consensual, no issue. Please don’t threaten Congressmen with AIDS rapes or drownings- might be actionable. Todd Akin may have described the above clumsily and look like Kurtwood Smith who played Clarence J. Boddicker in Robocop 1 (1987 Paul Verhoeven), but that does not mean Todd should be subject to this sort of abuse.

Perhaps those threatening Todd need to get their heads checked instead . . . I do however suggest that since Todd has been in ‘power’ for more than 2 terms, that Todd relinquish that seat anyway for someone that Todd could endorse that is similarly minded. Oligarchic term limitlessness destroys democracy, and Todd looks like part of the problem of technicalities in ethics for bettering democracy rather than the solution or being an exemplar. Careerist politicians are a sad relic of the past. Todd voted well on several bills but has not forwarded any useful bills or at even bills to redistribute land to the poor or come up with anything useful for all those stints in taxpayer paid for posts.

Todd voted for carrying concealed weapons GOOD (2nd Amendment is always good, the bigger the weapon the better . . . )
Todd voted against the parks and soils sales tax GOOD (The Iraq war is not over, the last thing USA needs is Crony Capitalism gardening companies bleeding tax payers)
Todd voted against the 1993 tax increase and education spending increase GOOD (Prevented Crony Capitalism)
Todd sponsored legislation to prohibit casino companies from contributing to Missouri state lawmakers. GOOD (Ethical)

Todd is anti-abortion rights, BAD (Authoritarian, the state does not control women’s bodies . . . but spiritual issue of partially formed life is very serious – perhaps could be dealt with via formulation between various faiths the best way to safely ensure partly formed ‘Foetids’ are able to ‘re-enter’ the circle of life properly)

How about redistribution of un-used state land to the homeless or poor due for foreclosures? A semi-thoughtful man who did not delve deep enough into the above before speaking . . .

ARTICLE 3

Man on trial for paedophilia to use ‘my brain made me do it’ defence – August 29, 2012

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was sane when he killed 77 people last year. — Reuters pic
LONDON, Aug 29 — He was once a respected paediatrician, loved by patients and their parents for over 30 years. Now Domenico Mattiello faces trial for paedophilia, accused of making sexual advances towards little girls in his care.

Scientific experts will argue in court that his damaged brain made him do it, and his lawyers will ask for leniency.

It’s the latest example of how neuroscience — the science of the brain and how it works — is taking the stand and beginning to challenge society’s notions of crime and punishment.

The issue has been thrown into the spotlight by new technologies, like structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) scans and DNA analysis that can help pinpoint the biological basis of mental disorders.

A series of recent studies has established that psychopathic rapists and murderers have distinct brain structures that show up when their heads are scanned using MRI.

And in the United States, two companies, one called No Lie MRI and another called Cephos Corp, are advertising lie-detection services using fMRI to lawyers and prosecutors.

Crime and punishment

While structural MRI scans show the structure of a brain and can highlight differences between one brain and another, PET and fMRI scans can also show the brain in action, lighting up at particular points when the brain engages in certain tasks.

But the dazzling new technologies and detailed genetic data leave unanswered the issue of whether criminal courts are the right place to use this new information.

“The worry is that the law, or at least some judges, might be so overawed by the technology that they start essentially delegating the decision about guilt to a particular form of test,” says Colin Blakemore, a professor of neuroscience at Oxford University.

The lawyers for American serial killer Brian Dugan, who was facing execution in Illinois after pleading guilty to raping and killing a 10-year-old girl, used scans of his brain activity to argue he had mental malfunctions and should be spared the death penalty. In the event, Illinois abolished capital

punishment while he was on death row.

In a court in the Indian city of Mumbai, a woman was convicted of murder based only on circumstantial evidence and a so-called brain electrical oscillations signature profiling (BEOS) test, the results of which prosecutors said suggested she was guilty.

The days when mental capacity for crime is argued over by psychiatrists unaided by sophisticated machinery — such as Friday’s verdict that Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was sane when he killed 77 people — look numbered.

“All sorts of types of neuroscience evidence are being used for all sorts of types of claims,” says Teneille Brown, a professor of law at the University of Utah. “The question is, is this technology really ready for prime time, or is it being abused?”

“Acquired paedophilia”

In Mattiello’s case, the neuroscientific evidence will come in the form of a full psychiatric and biological analysis including an MRI brain scan that shows a roughly 4-centimetre tumour growing at the base of his brain.

This created pressure inside his skull and “altered his behaviour”, says Pietro Pietrini, a molecular geneticist and psychiatrist at Italy’s University of Pisa who is compiling an expert report on the 65-year-old.

“His previous behaviour was completely normal,” Pietrini told Reuters. “He was a paediatrician for 30 something years and he saw tens of thousands of children and never had any problem. The question is why, at some point, did someone who has always behaved properly suddenly change so drastically?”

The doctor was arrested in Vicenza, northern Italy, more than a year ago and is undergoing cancer treatment after having the tumour removed. Pietrini is due to see him again next month to continue his assessment and see the effects of the treatment.

The case, which has yet go to court, is strikingly similar to another of “acquired paedophilia” dating back to 2002, in which a 40-year-old married American schoolteacher suddenly became obsessed with sex and began secretly to collect child pornography.

He was eventually removed from the family home for making sexual advances towards his stepdaughter and convicted of paedophilia. But later medical examinations found he had an egg-sized tumour in a part of the brain involved in decision-making.

When the tumour was removed, the man recovered from his paedophilic tendencies and was able to return to his family.

Experts are generally agreed that conditions like psychopathy and paedophilia can’t be “cured”, but in this groundbreaking case it appeared that removing the tumour, and hence the pressure in the brain, may have re-established his ability to control impulses.

As in that case, Pietrini said he and colleague Giuseppe Sartori of Padua University believed Mattiello’s tumour “may well have played a role in altering his behaviour”.

“This is what we will be arguing,” Pietrini said. “But of course it will be for the judge to determine to what extent he believes this medical condition played a role.”

Oxford’s Blakemore, one of the world’s leading thinkers in this field, says such cases are “startling”.

“It makes one wonder about the notion of responsibility,” he said in an interview.

Is “my brain made me do it” a defence?

And when it comes to prison, should paedophiles, psychopaths and other violent criminals be punished less severely if their behaviour can be blamed on biology? Is “my brain made me do it” a defence that warrants recognition with lighter sentences, or even no jail time at all?

“(It) raises the whole issue of what you think sentencing is for,” says Blakemore. “Is it about punishment? Is it about retribution? Is it about remediation and rehabilitation? Is it about protecting society? Well, to some extent it’s about all of those things.”

Recent evidence — from both real and hypothetical cases — suggests judges are sympathetic to neurobiological evidence as mitigation.

A study published in the journal Science this month showed that criminal psychopaths in the United States whose lawyers provide biological evidence for their brain condition are more likely to be sentenced to shorter jail terms than those who are simply said to be psychopaths.

For the study, researchers at the University of Utah tweaked the real-life case of Stephen Mobley, a 39-year-old American who was sentenced to death in 1994 after robbing a Domino’s pizza place in Georgia and shooting dead the restaurant’s manager.

At his trial, Mobley’s lawyer presented evidence in mitigation showing the accused had a variant of a gene called MAO-A that has been dubbed the “warrior” gene after scientists found it was linked to violent behaviour.

Aggressive genes

In the Science study, judges were given a hypothetical case loosely based on Mobley’s, where the crime was a savage beating with a gun, rather than a fatal shooting.

All the judges were told the defendant was a psychopath, but only half were given expert testimony on the genetic and neurobiological causes of his psychopathy. Those who got the neuroscientific evidence were more likely to give a shorter sentence – generally about a year less, the study found.

Pietrini worked on a similar real-life case in Italy in 2009 — thought to be one of the first criminal cases in Europe to use this type of neuroscientific evidence.

It involved Abdelmalek Bayout, an Algerian living in Italy, who was tried and convicted for fatally stabbing a man who teased him in the street.

After conducting a series of tests on the Algerian, Pietrini and colleagues said they had found abnormalities in imaging scans of his brain, and in five genes that have been linked to violent behaviour — including MAO-A.

A 2002 study led by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London linked low levels of MAO-A with aggressiveness and criminal behaviour in boys who were raised in abusive environments.

Bayout’s lawyers got his sentence reduced by arguing that this and other bad genes had affected his brain and were partly to blame for the attack.

Where will it end?

Experts say it’s almost inevitable that neuroscience and law will become yet more intertwined. After all, while neuroscience seeks to find out how the brain functions and affects behaviour, the law’s main concern is with regulating behaviour.

Yet many are uneasy about the use in courts of law — and in matters of life and death — of basic science that is only just creeping out of the lab.

Observers such as Hank Greely, a professor of law at Stanford University, point out that no scientific peer-reviewed studies have been published demonstrating that BEOS — the brain test used in the Mumbai case — actually works.

Others stress that while genes like MAO-A have been associated with violence, there are also plenty of people with similar genotypes who don’t go out and kill, rape or abuse.

“Neuroscience is being used by serious scientists in real labs, but the people trying to apply it in courts are not those same people,” says Utah’s Brown. “So they’re taking something that looks very objective, that looks like gold standard science, but then morphing it into a forensic use it wasn’t developed for.

Seena Fazel, a clinical senior lecturer in forensic psychiatry at Oxford University, says he’s uncomfortable with the long-term implications and wonders where it will end.

There are already known biological bases for many brain disorders criminals suffer from, including drug addiction, alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, which is thought to affect up to half of all those in prison.

“If psychopathy reduces your sentence because it has a biological basis, why shouldn’t these other more common conditions also result in reduced sentences? The problem here is where do we draw the line?” — Reuters

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

One’s spirit can only do so much healing before, calling quits. The physical brain may not have been aware and continuing such work created the tumour from the spirit’s dissatisfaction. In response, the paediatrician began TAKING back for the spirit by predating the children instead. One can only want to do so much healing. The capacity of the spirit may be boundless to the point of earthquakes and tornadoes, but a spirit who healed perhaps the 1000th or even 100th child decided to retire, and the physical man with the physical brain continued at the spirit’s expense which led to a tumor that specifically caused paedophelia or other harmful behaviour. Perhaps many bankers and politicians, even priests of large orders need to retire once a number of years have passed or a number of years of work have been offered, monetary renumeration is not what the spirit wants, the brain does not understand, but the spirit will make it’s will known in any number of ways like ailments.

ARTICLE 4

We’re more comfortable with sex on TV…but should we plug the filth flood before it’s too late? – by Andy Dawson – Wednesday, 29 August 2012 at 2:26 pm

We’re more comfortable with sex on TV…but should we plug the filth flood before it’s too late?As a 1980s teenager, finally deemed old enough to be allowed to stay up late and watch TV with my parents, it was the moment I feared the most – THE SEX BIT. On the screen that is, not in the living room. For both myself and my parents, short-term mortification was guaranteed every single time.

Of course, as this was almost thirty years ago, so when I say THE SEX BIT I’m referring to nothing more sizzlicious than the sight of a woman in her underwear, an extended bout of what Britain’s swimming pool law-enforcers call ‘heavy petting’, or if I was lucky/unlucky enough, actual female toplessness.

See even today, I’m still struggling to grasp for the correct terminology while maintaining my composure. But I have to confess that it isn’t working – my hands are becoming clammy and my brow fevered as I poke the words ‘female toplessness’ out on my sweat-drenched keyboard.

Back then, during one of those infrequent but time-stopping sexy TV flashpoints, if someone were to run in to the living room and conduct a straw poll as to whether there was too much sex on TV, the outcome would be a resounding 100% affirmative vote.

Mind you, if someone were to run in to the living room and steal our eyeballs from right out of the front of our heads, there would be very little dissent. We were all too busy trying to pretend that what we were witnessing wasn’t happening, while straining to stem the crimson tide of embarrassment that was flooding our faces.

But it’s 2012 now and attitudes are changing – Britain is loose and groovy now. A recent Ofcom poll found that just 25% of adults are unhappy with the amount of sex on the small-screen, a figure that is down from 36% in 2005. Perhaps some of them are unhappy because they’re not seeing enough sex, who knows. The fact that only 19% were offended by something they’d seen over the past 12 months suggests that might well be the case.

So what’s happening to us all? Are we in the midst of a new 21st century permissive society? Is the sight of televised rutting now as normal to us as that of Jeremy Kyle haranguing an absent, glue-addled dad?

If many of us are indeed more comfortable with the sight of what the French commonly call ‘the flesh fandango’, perhaps broadcasters will bend to our will and tailor more of their post-watershed programmes to our increased thirst for boot-knocking.

For years now, knuckle-dragging observers have yearned for the first televised full-blown sexual encounter in the Big Brother house. Perhaps it already happened – I genuinely couldn’t care less. But surely it’s time for the BBC to steal the march and give us the first ever full-blown sex scene in Eastenders, preferably in the Queen Vic, during a lock in. As for what form it takes, I don’t care as long as Jean Slater is involved (I have niche tastes, shush, mind your own business).

Surely it’s time for David Attenborough to stop traversing the globe and obsessing over the mating habits of boring old animals and secrete himself away in a wardrobe in a Surrey semi instead, fastidiously commentating on the passionate wranglings of a middle-aged middle manager and his partner of choice. As for the potential that is inherent in a new-look, post-sexy-revolution Strictly Come Dancing – well, the mind boggles. Oh, my hands are getting clammy again.

But telly sex isn’t for everyone and there would need to be a two-tier system with a quick and easy opt out available. Fair warning should be given ahead of any graphic sex scene and a simple push of the red button would switch to an alternative broadcast, with all of the rude bits covered by an animation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien monotonously braying the words ‘this is not actually happening’.

Is it what we really want though? Before long we’ll be living in a new era of wall-to-wall filth and we won’t even know how it happened. We’re almost certainly just a few years away from a time where the major source of living room awkwardness is when dad realises that the TV remote is wedged firmly beneath the writhing bodies of his 19-year-old daughter and her boyfriend.

Be careful what you wish for.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dawson is looking at this in a wrong manner. There could be ‘stiff’ channels for the upper classes, ‘semi-stiff’ for the middle classes, and ‘groovy’ channels for the lower classes. The viewership records merely show where society is headed. In a poorer lower class majority society, people will be ‘playing’ at home or at the cheaper part of the RLD mainly to relax, in a middle majority society people will be playing outside in non-RLD venues to sorta exercise, in a wealthy society people will be playing at the upper class venues to challenge themselves. No need to worry, rather look at the macro economic issues. I think Dawson isn’t really familiar with all groups? All facets of society should not be put under a microscope like this. Hands clammy? Well sound like Dawson is under stress and depending on Dawson’s wealth level, time to head to the RLD or the middle level venues if not too stressed . . .

We’re more comfortable with sex on TV…but should we plug the filth flood before it’s too late? – There is no filth flood, Dawson has been looking at the wrong channel too long IMHO.

Several women were sexually assaulted on Thursday during festivities to mark a local water festival in the island province of Hainan, according to eyewitnesses.

Around 8:30 am, several men tried to touch some women’s breasts, tearing their clothes during celebrations in Qixian Square, Baoting Li and Miao autonomous county, a website run by Xinhua News Agency reported.

Li Min, a tourist from Wanning in Hainan who has participated in the festival for the past five years, told China Daily that four or five women were assaulted after an opening ceremony, and the attackers were taken away by police.

“There were more than 1,000 people on the square playing with water at that time, and most of them were very young,” he said, adding that he was standing on the second floor of a building overlooking the square.

“I saw a man take off a young woman’s clothes, while similar situations also happened to four or five other women who were playing with water in different areas of the square at the same time.

“Later, police came to restore order, taking the men out of the square,” Li said, adding that he couldn’t tell how many men were taken into custody.

Huang Dingyi, from Haikou, capital of Hainan, who also witnessed the incident, said he saw a woman being molested by a man wearing a hat and a red scarf.

“The woman slipped when she was attacked by the man and she hit the attacker with a water pot,” he said. “The police rushed to stop the disorder from a house on the square and seized the man, who was in his 20s.”

On Thursday afternoon, media and netizens published photos of the festival celebrations on micro blogs.

A publicity officer for the county, who did not want to be identified, confirmed the incidents but said only one teenage girl had been sexually assaulted.

Some witnesses might have been mistaken about what they saw, according to the officer.

“It might be the carelessness of the girl wearing a vest playing with the water,” he said, adding the real situation was not as serious as netizens described.

In addition, Wang Xiumei, head of the county’s publicity department, said the public security bureau has been investigating the case and trying to determine how many women were attacked.

“We are paying attention to the case and will disclose the number and newest information as soon as possible,” she added.

On the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, China’s traditional day for lovers, Li and Miao ethnic groups offer water sacrifices, which has led to locals organizing a festival to attract tourists and residents to play with water.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No need to get police involved, rather have official ‘car wash’ type girls specifically to draw attention for these cheap thrill types. Do put notices stating clearly that no stripping of regular citizens is allowed and that only the ‘Water Show Girls’ are to be stripped and that charges can be pressed if regular citizens are stripped or manhandled or attacked.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has ordered the country’s Revolutionary Guards to intensify its campaign of terror attacks against the West and its allies in retaliation for supporting the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

According to Western intelligence officials, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the order to the elite Quds Force unit following a recent emergency meeting of Iran’s National Security Council in Tehran held to discuss a specially-commissioned report into the implications for Iran of the Assad regime’s overthrow.

Damascus is Iran’s most important regional ally, and the survival of the Assad regime is regarded as vital to sustaining the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia which controls southern Lebanon.

The report, which was personally commissioned by Mr Khamenei, concluded that Iran’s national interests were being threatened by a combination of the U.N. sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear programme and the West’s continuing support for Syrian opposition groups attempting to overthrow the Syrian government.

Intelligence officials say the report concludes that Iran “cannot be passive” to the new threats posed to its national security, and warns that Western support for Syrian opposition groups was placing Iran’s “resistance alliance” in jeopardy, and could seriously disrupt Iran’s access to Hizbollah in Lebanon.

It advised that the Iranian regime should demonstrate to the West that there were “red lines” over what it would accept in Syria, and that a warning should be sent to “America, the Zionists, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others that they cannot act with impunity in Syria and elsewhere in the region.”

Mr Khamenei responded by issuing a directive to Qassem Suleimani, the Quds Force commander, to intensify attacks against the West and its allies around the world.

The Quds Force has recently been implicated in a series of terror attacks against Western targets. Last year U.S. officials implicated the organisation in a failed assassination attempt against the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington. It was also implicated in three bomb attacks against Israeli diplomats in February, planning to attack the Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan while two Iranians were arrested in Kenya last month for possessing explosives.

Intelligence officials believe the recent spate of Iranian attacks has been carried out by the Quds Force’s Unit 400, which runs special overseas operations.

“Unit 400 seems to have been involved in all the recent Iranian terrorist operations,” said a senior Western intelligence official. “The Iranian regime now seems determined to retaliate for what they regard as the West’s attempts to influence the outcome of the Syrian unrest.”

Iran has been actively supporting the Assad regime’s attempts to suppress the wave of anti-government protests that erupted in March last year. Iranian opposition groups claim teams of experienced Revolutionary Guard officers have been flying to Damascus on specially-chartered Iranian aircraft on a weekly basis to advise the Assad regime.

The extent of Iran’s support for the Assad regime was exposed earlier this month when 48 Iranians were captured and taken hostage by Syrian opposition fighters. The Iranians, who are said to include senior Revolutionary Guard officers, claimed they were conducting “reconnaissance missions”,

and their capture by Syrian opposition fighters was deeply embarrassing for Tehran, which is demanding their immediate safe return to Iran. Syrian rebels have threatened to kill the hostages unless Iran ends its support for the Assad regime.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Do not target civilians as only cowards will do that. Jailbreaks though would be nice and almost supported by locals . . .

(Reuters) – Britain has withdrawn a threat to enter Ecuador’s embassy in London to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who has taken refuge there, President Rafael Correa said on Saturday, taking the heat out of the diplomatic standoff.

“We consider this unfortunate incident over, after a grave diplomatic error by the British in which they said they would enter our embassy,” Correa said in a weekly media address.

In a statement, Ecuador’s government said it had received “a communication from the British Foreign Office which said that there was no threat to enter the embassy.”

Ecuador was furious after the British government warned it might try to seize Assange, who has been holed up in the building for more than two months trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations.

Ecuador, which has granted the former computer hacker asylum, demanded that Britain’s threat be retracted. The latest move should improve relations between Quito and London and allow more talks on Assange’s fate to take place.

For now, however, Assange remains trapped in the embassy with British police waiting outside. Britain has said it is determined to fulfill a legal obligation to send him to Sweden.

The Washington-based Organization of American States had condemned Britain’s threat, and South American foreign ministers strongly backed Correa’s position that Britain’s warning was unacceptable and could set a dangerous precedent.

Correa says he shares Assange’s fears that if handed over to Sweden, he could then be extradited to the United States to face charges over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of secret U.S. cables.

U.S. and European government sources say the United States has issued no criminal charges against the WikiLeaks founder and has launched no attempt to extradite him.

Ecuador’s government says it never intended to prevent Assange from facing justice in Sweden. It has said that if he received written guarantees from Britain and Sweden that he would not be extradited to any third country then Assange would hand himself over to the Swedish authorities.

Assange, whose platinum hair and friendships with the rich and famous have helped make him a global celebrity, spoke from the embassy’s balcony last weekend, denouncing what he called a “witch hunt” by the United States against him and WikiLeaks.

(Editing by Brian Ellsworth and Mohammad Zargham)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

How important is Assange? If Assange is VERY important in a manner that could finish off the England or what not, then the MI6 could have a group of unknown baklava wearing ‘Right Wingers’ (invent an IRA type outfit loyal to England i.e. ‘Swedish Meatball Brigade’ – of course these are tight lipped Commandos or such that never set foot among civvies), barge into the embassy in a peaceful holdup would be nice, abit of bruising or slapping for drama and PC believability, but depending on how unpleasant Ecuador has been with England . . . fully expect the same to occur in English Embassy in Ecuador though if ever the situation was reversed – in tit for tat) and drag Assange out, to deliver Assange to the nearest police station then use the ‘deniability’ issue.

This will however have everyone on their toes ‘Cold War’ style. If Assange is not important enough, then forget about Assange and stop media covering the obvious narcissist and even let the guy out on the streets. If Assange goes to Equador on his own, ‘Swedish Meatball Brigade’ can suddenly have a Right Wing Branch in Ecuador (made of incidental expats or tourists) as well who can still haul Assange to the Swedish Embassy in Ecuador for ‘rape’ charges (in what could be the most farcical trial ever in the history of humanity . . . ).

Four Orthodox Christian crosses have been chopped down in different parts of Russia. The incidents come after the Femen movement attacked a cross in Kiev to protest the sentence of the punk band Pussy Riot, who received two years in prison.

Three crosses have been taken down in the Urals’ Chelyabinsk Region, and one in the Archangelsk Region, northern Russia.

By the time police arrived at the scenes the vandals had already left. Authorities have launched an investigation into both cases.

The Arkhangelsk cross was erected in the memory of the victims of political repressions, said a local priest, Hegumen Feodosy.

He also said that in recent years the monastery, situated across the street from the cross, has seen two arson attacks and a number of other acts of vandalism.

“This comes in the context of all these incidents in recent months across the country, all this anti-church hysteria waged against our diocese, against the church authority, against everything sacred,” Hegumen Feodosy said.

Russian Human Rights Ombudsman has also strongly condemned the acts of vandalism.

“Just like all normal people, I’m outraged by the ludicrous acts of these individuals. I would hope to see these low-lifes voluntarily come in and explain the motives behind their outrageous actions,” Vladimir Lukin has told Interfax news agency. “Deliberate destruction of Christian or any other religious shrines is a bacchanalia of hatred and brutality.”

The two incidents follow a similar case when the leader of the Ukrainian activist group Femen took down a cross in Kiev using a chainsaw. The act, which was filmed and photographed, later received wide circulation on the Web.

In a statement Femen declared that the cross was taken down in solidarity with the members of punk band Pussy Riot, who were sentenced to two years in jail for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Much like loudspeakers and Muslim prayers 5 times daily can offend, there is a neutral spaces issue that can anger. Are the crosses placed in a way that disenfranchise other faiths?

ARTICLE 9

Student Debt as a Moral Issue – Posted on August 26, 2012 – By Noam Shpancer

A few months ago I took several of my students to a conference in Chicago. Many of my students come from small towns in Ohio. Many have never been to a big city. Many have never left Ohio, never been on a plane before. It was thus particularly rewarding to chaperone them and witness their excitement and joy as they experienced the Second City.

One evening, strolling down Michigan Ave, the conversation turned to money. I casually asked my students about their loan burden. One of them, a perky senior psychology major planning to get her Masters and become a social worker, said she had $80,000 in student loan debt. I was shocked.

Now, I am not entirely naïve about the problem of student loan debt. Until this year, I had one myself. A university degree is still—and perhaps more than before—the passport to the American middle class life.

Demand for education is high, classroom seats in good schools are in limited supply, and so prices tend to go up. Tuition rate hikes routinely outpace inflation. Thus, students are pushed into larger debts. According to the NY Times, the average student loan debt in the US topped $23,000 last year. Much has been written recently about the attendant economic and social hazards. A debt of $23,000 is a troubling burden, for students and parents.

But a debt of $80,000 is something else entirely.

You can perhaps make a case that debt of this magnitude is justified in some unique cases—such as in the process of obtaining a highly valuable degree from a top notch institution. Some professions pay very well. And Ivy League degrees practically guarantee higher starting salaries. But in this particular context—in my reality and that of my students—such a debt is simply not justifiable.

The difference between 23k and 80k debt is a bit like the difference between drinking and driving drunk. If I see a student of mine drinking beer, I may feel uneasy, or worried. I may even say something about responsibility. But if I see a drunken student get behind the wheel, I’m obligated to intervene. An $80,000 debt, for my students, is akin to getting behind the wheel while plastered. it is a recipe for disaster.

Like most private liberal arts institutions, my university prides itself on nurturing students. Many formal systems and procedures are in place to identify and address potential problems and pitfalls students may encounter as they pursue their degrees. We track student attendance, we track their grades, we advise them on which courses to take so as to stay on track toward graduation; we make sure they take the right load—that they don’t over-burden themselves.

There is a medical clinic on campus, as well as career counselors at the ready and free psychotherapy sessions. There are writing labs and tutors and study groups and remedial classes for those who are academically behind, or unprepared. There are assorted advocacy and support group and myriad religious activities.

There are social clubs and Greek organizations and many opportunities set up to help students find company, identity, a sense of belonging; we’re trying to take care of them while they learn the tools that will facilitate their ascent in the world.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Education is a trick by ‘elites’ to get middle class people indebted (also job fair hype), so that the middle class can be turned into the poor. Most large businesses or multi-corps are already owned by elites, so all middles who do not think like, or think for the benefit of elites, or who are too independent and rebellious, or likely to take civilisation beyond the plutocrat-masses-capitalist paradigm of the 20th/21st century, will be prevented from getting jobs, negatively socialised, demogogued against, and turned into ‘the poor’. The poor will be too poor to run for election or have enough energy to think critically, and the threat to the elites from the middles end in this way. Democracy ends when people fail to recognize that plutocrats or term limitless politicians or nepotists try to control the political arena. So will the 99% please vote only for the non-plutocrat or non-nepotists or non-GLC contractors or plutocrats, and eventually vote Joe Publics into power to ensure unused land distribution as discussed throughout this blog, as well as wealth distribution with Socialist limits eventually.

Rise in fees is excluding children of average-earners
Dr Martin Stephen say private schools are putting themselves in danger

Private schools have put themselves in danger warns Dr Martin Stephen

Thousands of middle-income families have been priced out of private schools by inflation-busting fee rises.

Average fees have risen at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the past ten years.

The increases mean that private schooling is now beyond average earners in well-paid occupations, including pharmacists, architects, IT experts, engineers and scientists.

A decade ago, these professionals would have been able to afford to pay fees out of earned income.

Now, however, they would struggle without funding from other sources, according to the study.

The average annual fee for a day pupil at a private school is £11,457, up from £6,820 in 2002, researchers found. Charges have risen 68 per cent in that period, 1.8 times faster than retail price inflation over the same period, which was up 37 per cent.

Private school fees are considered affordable if they account for 25 per cent or less of the average annual full-time salary before tax.

But £11,457 represents 35 per cent of this average, which stands at £33,011, according to the study by Lloyds TSB Private Banking. In 2002, fees would have taken 27 per cent.

Tuition fee rise HAS turned thousands of middle class students off going to university
It’s catastrophic for students, abused by profiteering exam, boards and blindly discriminates against boys. We bust me bold… and put the GCSE out of its misery
Exam regulator to look into GCSE gradings after headteachers threaten legal action

Suren Thiru, economist at the bank, said the rises make it ‘increasingly difficult for the average worker in many occupations to afford a private education for their offspring’.

Those who can most easily afford the fees include accountants, senior police officers, airline pilots and production managers as fees represent 19 per cent of their annual earnings.

Excluded: The rise in fees for private education means that average earners can no longer afford independent schooling for their children

The findings follow a warning this year from the former head of a top private school that the sector is losing public confidence by becoming the preserve of the super-rich.

Dr Martin Stephen, formerly of St Paul’s School, West London wrote: ‘Independent schools have put themselves in a very dangerous position; even more dangerous because they don’t realise the danger.

‘They are pricing themselves out of the reach of most normal people in the UK. The independent sector is becoming socially exclusive in a way not seen since Victorian times.’

Dr Stephen is now director of education at GEMS, an international schools group aiming to make private education ‘affordable’.

He added: ‘The sector has become too dependent on overseas parents and is profiting from a state sector in some turmoil as a result of radical change. Independents need to realign themselves with their clients.’

The biggest rises in fees have been in London and the South West, both up 79 per cent from 2002-12. Next were East Anglia (74 per cent) and the East Midlands and South East, both at just under 70 per cent.

The number of pupils enrolled at private schools has also fallen over the decade, according to the study.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Fee price as well as goods price increases need to be monitored by government and prevented from being more than inflation rate. To ensure exclusivity, use the CLASS paradigm or requirement (i.e. the job the parent was working at determines if a private school wants to take them in), also CRIMINAL RECORD or at extreme levels ETHICAL requirements, instead of the wealth only paradigm. Not all wealthy are classy folks (even the titled have been stealing tax funds from so many cases in England), and not all poor are unsuitable or lack the high mindedness for exclusive education. For lack of a better method of retaining exclusivity, the private college has lost all ethics to become money spinners and mere businesses rather than educational or social bastions. Education now, is a farce.

Public school fees could be on a flat 10% of earnings basis regardless of whatever the parent is earning. Private school fees could be on a flat 20% of earnings basis regardless of whatever the parent is earning.

This way all social classes are able to participate after criminal record or background checks so long as they sacrifice 20% of the monthly salaries. This would make entrances on quality possible for everyone, not equate wealth with quality and create a low quality plutocracy and a worship of wealth as the basis of a society and nation and unending increases in education fees which should be free, being a basic necessity.

Police said the death of Tao Wei, China Central Television’s famous soccer commentator, was not suspicious, people.com reports.

The body of the 34-year-old was discovered in a room at the Nishihaitai Hotel in Jinan, Shandong province at 9 am on Monday after he failed to meet friends for breakfast that morning.

He was staying at the hotel for one night with three friends before continuing their journey to Qingdao.

Local police say Tao’s body showed no signs of injury. There was no sign of any disturbance in the room, and the hotel room window and door was in good condition.

Tao’s coworkers at CCTV say he was a hardworking and modest person who has a good reputation among colleagues and maintained a healthy lifestyle, according to Beijing News.

Tao was a soccer player for more than a decade before becoming a soccer commentator for CCTV. He also owned a soccer club in Beijing.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . also owned a soccer club in Beijing . . . – This is the main cause for certain. ALL soccer clubs have links to gambling and the underworld. Not so surprising. Actaully all sports related people and industry players are nominally affected by gambling as well. Sports is driven to a great degree by gambling and hence the underworld, especially for those out of University level age or even career sportsmen. Look at the milder eating/fatness oriented Sumo for example which was riddled with underworld allegations. Football is far deeper enmired. The best is to legalize gambling at football stadiums much like gambling at horse races. No point keeping up pretenses. Bad debts can occur and Taowei being an owner doubtless was involved.

Who knows Taowei was conducting a sting for CCTV, if not involved in a criminal manner that might lead to certain individuals being targeted for questioning and would ‘squeal’. Had to be killed then. But worse still, the police could well have had their own informers and killed Taowei in a counter-sting operation – i.e. ‘death not suspicious’. Just legalize football gambling to prevent this sort of case from occurring. People love to gamble though limits on losses should be clearly marked like 30% of salary level at most (or 30% of lifetime asset at most) before being barred from gambling. Even the underworld would prefer to be legal so why make all these pretenses? Much like prohibition in the USA for alcohol, this is gambling prohibition in China.

ARTICLE 12

Kim Kardashian settles lawsuit with Old Navy after label used a lookalike in ad – by Daily Mail Reporter UPDATED: 19:59 GMT, 29 August 2012

Kim Kardashian has settled a lawsuit against Old Navy claiming the clothing retailer violated her publicity rights by using a lookalike in an ad.

The reality TV star, 31, sued over the spot in July 2011, claiming the company’s use of a model who looked like her might confuse consumers about her actual endorsements, which include a clothing store and shoe line.

No details about the settlement were filed with the court.

Spot the difference: Kim Kardashian, left, settled a lawsuit against Old Navy claiming the clothing retailer violated her publicity rights by using lookalike Melissa Molinaro in an ad who is rumoured to be dating Reggie Bush.

‘The lawsuit was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,’ said the reality TV starlet’s lawyer Gary Hecker, who declined to elaborate.

A spokesperson for Old Navy parent company The Gap Inc. was not immediately available.

The lawsuit was over the commercial titled ‘Super C-U-T-E.’

The ad began airing in February 2011 and was still being used in some of the company’s promotions months later, Kardashian’s lawsuit stated.

It featured Canadian singer-model Melissa Molinaro, who an attorney for Old Navy said at a January hearing was famous in her own right.

Doppelgänger: In the advertisement, Molinaro hair and make-up is styled almost identically to Kim’s

Molinaro was said to be dating Kardashian’s ex boyfriend Reggie Bush at the time.

But the retailer maintained her appearance in the ad wasn’t intended to draw similarities to Kardashian.

Hecker contended that some news outlets and Twitter users noted similarities in the women’s appearances.

Kardashian was seeking unspecified damages – believed to be in the region of $15 – $20 million and an order barring Old Navy from using a lookalike model again.

Seem familiar? Molinaro even tries her hand at a signature Kim ‘look over the shoulder’ pose

Plenty in common: Model and actress Molinaro was also linked to Kim’s ex Reggie Bush

Last year Molinaro said she was thrilled to be compared to Kardashian, describing it as an ‘amazing compliment.’

She had previously been a competitor on the Pussycat Dolls Presents: The Search For The Next Doll and also P. Diddy’s hit show Making The Band, where she just missed out on becoming part of now defunct female group, Danity Kane.

Melissa also scored a major role in the dance/romance film ‘Honey 2’, the follow up to Jessica Alba’s original flick, Honey, but it went straight to DVD in the U.S.

She had also released her debut single and video Dance Floor, where she is seen prancing around and posing in an array of leotards and skimpy bathing suits that show off a rounded derrière, similar to Kim’s.

Who would actually think that would be Kim K singing/dancing? Remember…. she has no talent.

– Jessica, Dallas, Texas, 30/8/2012 04:19
Rating 106

Is she going to sue the model for looking like her too?? Stupid, self-obsessed woman. I don’t think I’m alone in wishing she would just disappear.

– lauren, lala land, 30/8/2012 03:14
Rating 98

I want my girl Nicole Scherzinger to sue Kim for infringing on her look and publicity rights as well! That girl does not look THAT much like Kim and anyone who thought it was Kim in the ads must be pretty silly. Besides if Kim so much as passes gas she let’s the world know, surely people would not question if she had an endorsement deal with Old Navy-they’d know it already. Sounds like she only did this because the girl was dating Reggie, the love of Kim’s life. Kim will do anything for money as well. She is the worst type of person you could ever imagine. What a shame that Old Navy would settle this with her. Disgusting.

– LOL SMH, LA, USA, 30/8/2012 02:46
Rating 41

What UTTER nonsense!!! She obviously sued because that girl is prettier! Is she going to sue everyone who wears their hair like that on TV? A style that’s before she ever ‘arrived’. What utter nonsense. I really hate that woman.

– Greg, Belfast Norn Iron, 30/8/2012 02:19
Rating 40

Ha Ha, So we have a nobody that thinks she is somebody and a nobody trying be the nobody that thinks she is somebody, Never knowingly undersold, you can’t make this stuff up.

– Rapidlaser, London UK, 30/8/2012 01:59
Rating 23

So that girl can’t model for anyone because she looks too like Kim? Sounds a bit unfair.

– alwayshocked, Ireland, 30/8/2012 01:47
Rating 89

Get a life Kim.

– Hasan, London, UK, 30/8/2012 01:34
Rating 60

I think she looks more like Eva Longoria. Did Eva sue as well? Actually I have a friend who also has long brown hair. I should tell her to sue old navy for having the audacity to hire an actress who resembles her.

– Cassie, Wyoming, 30/8/2012 01:29
Rating 53

“…a rounded derrière, similar to Kim’s.” Let’s get real – any similarity between them ends at the ass line.

– Kingfish, Atlanta, USA, 30/8/2012 01:26
Rating 33

this women is so full of it!! Does she seriously think every women with long dark hair and brown eyes is trying to imitate her pathetic!!

– Mrs B, buckinghamshire, 30/8/2012 01:06

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Molinaro even tries her hand at a signature Kim ‘look over the shoulder’ pose. NO. There is no such thing as a signature pose. The human body has limited poses. No combination can fairly be considered ‘signature’.

This is almost Old Navy admitting to wanting to use a Kim Kardashian lookalike. However that Molinaro model could well present herself to ANY company to want to market their goods and a company that accepts that offer would be absolved of this form of infringement. A company cannot specifically seek a Kim Kardashian lookalike, BUT a Kim Kardashian lookalike could seek ANY company for promotion of themselves, NOT specifically as Kim Kardashian BUT as themselves.

You see lookalikes have as much right to a certain look as the first person who looks that way who was promoted. If Old Navy managed to sustain ‘deniability’ sufficiently, they could countersue for anti-monopoly issues and modelling industry ‘Fair Opportunity’ laws. Sort of like Kim Kardashian demanding a monopoly on ALL people who look like her, which suppress the opportunity of all lookalikes from having a viable modelling career which is obviously illegal.

Either Old Navy had the intent and owned up, or just wasn’t steady on their feet in thinking through on the anti-monopoly issue. This is where foreign advertising companies who never heard of such and such ‘stars’ could be employed for ‘deniability’, so long as intent is not traced back. If coincidences occur there still is no case then. Melissa Molinaro incidentally could counter sue Kim Kardashian for preventing her from having a modelling career with Old Navy if they have the stomach and CORRECT sense of indignation to re-open up the case, not for money but an apology that will set precedents for case studies in law.

Nick Clegg last night demanded a swingeing new tax on the rich to help ease the financial squeeze being suffered by the less well-off as austerity measures bite.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Britain’s wealthiest should be made to contribute more to the ‘economic war’, which has been made worse by the double-dip recession.

He said an extra ‘time-limited contribution’ from the rich would be seen as fair given the scale of Britain’s financial problems.

Without it, he suggested, Britain could suffer a breakdown in ‘social cohesion’ as seen during last summer’s riots.

Calls for a new tax to soak the rich are likely to antagonise the Tory Right, who argue that cutting taxes is the best way to boost growth and persuade the well-off to pay more.

The Liberal Democrat leader gave little indication of where he thought the new tax should be levied, although he suggested it would be in addition to the party’s existing proposal to levy an annual ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth more than £2million.

In an interview with the Guardian he said the prolonged nature of the battle to tackle the deficit left by Labour called for exceptional measures.

He said: ‘If we want to remain cohesive and prosperous as a society, people of very considerable personal wealth have got to make a bit of an extra contribution.

‘In addition to our standing policy on things like the mansion tax is there a time limited contribution you can ask in some way or another from people of considerable wealth so they feel they are making a contribution to the national effort?

Return of the Laws: Mr Clegg says he wants disgraced David Laws back in Government despite Mr Laws resignation over his expenses

‘What we are embarked on is in some senses a longer economic war rather than a short economic battle.’

Mr Clegg said it was vital for the Government to ‘really hard-wire fairness into what we do in the next phases of fiscal restraint’. He added: ‘If we don’t do that I don’t think the process will be either socially or politically sustainable or acceptable.’

This morning, Susan Kramer, the Lib Dem treasury spokesman in the House of Lords, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We can’t give a free ride to people. If we’re going to be a coherent society everyone has to carry a share of it.’

She added: ‘At the very upper end income tax probably doesn’t work effectively… a wealth tax is a very interesting way to go.’

In a gloomy assessment, Mr Clegg said it was now clear that what once appeared to be a ‘short, sharp economic battle’ was ‘clearly turning into a longer term process of economic recovery and fiscal restraint’.

He said this would involve ‘sacrifices over a longer period of time, a longer period of belt tightening as a country’ – making it essential that the rich are seen to be playing their part.

Mr Clegg said details of his new tax proposals would be unveiled at next month’s Lib Dem conference.
Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems have refused to support David Cameron’s proposed boundary changes following the collapse of the Government¿s plans for Lords reform

Forced vote: Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems have refused to support David Cameron’s proposed boundary changes following the collapse of the Lords reform

He suggested the tax was likely to target ‘very high asset wealth’. Changes to the top rate of income tax have been all but ruled out following the Coalition’s controversial decision to reduce it from 50p to 45p earlier this year.

Mr Clegg also gave the strongest hint yet that David Laws is set to return to Government in the forthcoming reshuffle.

Mr Laws was forced to quit his post as Treasury Chief Secretary after less than a month following revelations about his expenses.

But he has continued as an informal adviser to Mr Clegg, particularly on economic matters and is now tipped to return as a minister in the Cabinet Office.

Mr Clegg said: ‘I have never made any secret of the fact that I want to see David Laws back in Government.’

Mr Clegg also urged David Cameron to force a vote on proposed boundary changes, which the Lib Dems have refused to support following the collapse of the Government’s plans for Lords reform.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Lets see which MPs are part of the problem that refuse to ratify this Wealth Tax bill. A person earning 1+ million annually should be subject to 80% taxes IMHO. That would mean 200K a year earnings which 99% of the population will not likely achieve given the sluggish jobs growth and England’s lack of positioning on any major trade routes. How many people earn 16,000+ a month (i.e. 200K a year) in England anyway? Wealth distribution otherwise cannot occur. A person earning 10+ million annually should be subject to 90% taxes. That would mean 1M a year earnings which is well beyond most of the WORLD. How many people earn 80,000+ a month in England anyway? So think wealth tax for redistribution of wealth. All that sequestered wealth is not going to make 99% lives better, so might as well tax, then redistribute for healthcare or education and perhaps more council housing for the poor or other cost absorbing initiatives like free power and water or even staples – courtesy of your fat cat plutocrat millions earning types . . . good one Clegg, so who’s going to set up a another series of riots to make sure the 1% understand that the Wealth Tax is for the good of everyone if convincing the corrupted crony Capitalist colluders in Parliament won’t work?

After shooting to fame on Sex, Lies and Rinsing Guys, it’s fair to say Danica Thrall knows how to manipulate men to get her own way.

But now her flirtatious behaviour has landed her in hot water in the Celebrity Big Brother house yet again as she faces eviction for a second time.

The 24-year-old beauty was slammed by her housemates for causing a ‘love triangle’ between former pals Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino and Prince Lorenzo Borghese.

Emotional: Danica Thrall burst into tears as she confronted Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino about nominating her for a second time

And she was forced to listen to every word of their criticism as Big Brother ordered the group to make their nominations in front of each other yet again.

Before the contestants even took to the sofas to deliver their verdict, Martin Kemp admitted he had been shocked by the glamour girl’s behaviour in the ‘Gods and Mortals’ task, explaining she had been ‘teasing’ both The Situation and Prince Lorenzo.

Speaking in the Diary Room, he said: ‘The whole argument between Danica and The Situation has been caused by Danica’s bed-hopping. She teases those boys.
‘It’s disgraceful’: MC Harvey fumed about Danica’s behaviour to Prince Lorenzo following the nominations

‘They think they can snog her. Danica led Lorenzo to the point where I thought he was going to propose. She knows what she’s doing and she’s very good at it.’

But worse was yet to come when Danica’s fellow housemates slammed her behaviour in front of her.

MC Harvey said: ‘I’m sick of this love triangle situation, and I think she was one of the main causes of The Situation and Lorenzo becoming distant when they used to be friends.’

And the beauty was shocked when The Situation turned against her for a second time, saying: ‘Danica uses my emotions against Prince. Although I do care about her, let’s see how the public feels.’

Upsetting: The housemates were forced to make their nominations in front of each other yet again

Meanwhile, Samantha Brick added: ‘We’ve got very different views on how you treat and respect men.’

Danica was left in tears at the end of the nominations and decided to confront The Situation on why he had put her up for eviction again.

‘I would never have done that to you. Never,’ she said. ‘I thought out of everyone I could rely on you, like I said I could.’

Upset: Danica looked on as she was nominated by Ashley, Harvey, Julie, Samantha and The Situation

But the Jersey Shore star claimed his decision was tactical, saying: ‘I practically love you, but I know you have a boyfriend.’

And Danica’s actions caused a further divide between the group when Prince Lorenzo attempted to stand up for her against MC Harvey.

However, the rapper immediately hit back in a scathing attack, suggesting the model’s behaviour has been ‘disgraceful’.
‘I’m sick of this love triangle’: The Celebrity Big Brother housemates fumed that they were fed up of the model’s incessant flirting

‘I’m sick of this love triangle’: The Celebrity Big Brother housemates fumed that they were fed up of the model’s incessant flirting

‘National treasure’: Coleen admitted to Big Brother that she had previously been afraid of nominating Julie

I nearly chocked on my horlicks when Coleen referred to Julie Goodyear as being a national treasure, that gum chewing trouble maker is everything but.

– Kal, Manchester, 31/8/2012 07:39
Rating 2

MC Harvey is a nasty piece of work and not nice to women – Danica is right; he is a bully and a ring leader. Ashley is a stupid but nasty little boy too with no respect for women. Julie Goodyear is a disgrace. I don’t respect Danica’s career but she is not insincere – she is a very honest woman – I like her!

– laura, oxford, 31/8/2012 07:36
Rating (0)

Harvey you numpty you can’t talk about Danica after what you did to Alisha. While all you eejits are looking and hating on Danica the one you should be watching is Julie ‘clacking gum’ Goodyear she’s the silent assassin. Mike the walking ego is playing a great game knowing he’s got the house’s sympathy over Danica he’s playing it for all it’s worth. Prince Lorenzo is a sweetie but hardly stupid. Relationships formed in these situations are doomed before they start. Danica is flirting BUT hardly crime of the century… Unless you’re Mike who doesn’t like not having her 24/7 to himself. I don’t want Danica to leave I think Sam should go she’s boring

– Oxfordshire Annie, UK, 31/8/2012 07:27
Rating (0)

Even though she has faults Danica is so pretty – islingtongrl, Renfrew Scotland, 31/8/2012 03:43 ———————————————————————————- What a sad little comment that is! She’s ugly on the inside, no one knows who the real Danica is. Being pretty will only get you so far and eventually it will lead to trouble, hope she’s prepared for it. As a man i acknowledge she’s pretty, but some men can see through the lipstick and flirty hair playing. She’s a little tramp and i hope in future a real strong powerful man destroys her emotionally and morally!

– Robert, Liverpool, 31/8/2012 07:26
Rating 1

Please, please please vote to keep the lovely Julian in. He’s a lovely and genuine person and deserves to win. Martin Kemp second. As for Julie, well, what a vile, foul mouthed back stabber she is!

– jane, south coast, 31/8/2012 07:22
Rating 3

Harvey – You are a vile Hypocrite, and that is 10 time worse than Danica!!!

– RJ, London, 31/8/2012 07:20
Rating 1

Danika is a vile woman.

– only me, Bedford, 31/8/2012 07:13
Rating 1

My my, aren’t we all judgemental. I’m sure nobody commenting here has ever done anything others wouldnt approve of. I’m not a big fan of her behaviour in the house (or at leastbwhat C5 have chosen to show us), but I think she had a point last night. The boys have formed a nasty gang against her. For my money, she’s just a silly girl. The real nasty piece of work is Julie. What a malevolent crow. She is playing every single one of the housemates for fools. She is the true villain of the piece, not sideshow Danica.

– Miffster’s Mum, Nowhere, 31/8/2012 07:10
Rating (0)

Can not stand Danica! Spoilt madam!

– nicole, London, 31/8/2012 07:06

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Is this Danica even a real person? Lets pretend if not because the issue is quite interesting . . . Danika could make a fortune TEACHING others to use that mojo as she does (uncontrolled mojo btw leads to rapes of even Burkha clad women, even though their eyes cannot even be seen, a man though can sense the ‘spirit’ of such women and get excited – so the chips fall in trhe Middle East . . . Danika however actually IS in control!).

Don’t condemn and put Danika in proper perspective and context. Danica could change the sex lives of the ‘untrained’ FOREVER perhaps via some seminars or what not! This is talent and must not be blunted by attacks like this. Maybe not suitable for some reality shows or some social situations, but must not be lost or weakened! Danika could in fact create a renaissancxe in sex positivism as well as overhaul the henpecked feminazi manipulated psychiatric establishment and nridge the alpha male group to mainstream society!

Danika sound like beyond mere sex, but can be the MIND OF SEX. Just immature and needs proper context (reality TV is no context for anything btw, just aggravation and lots of poseurs bullying those watching unawares, or if not ‘their own size/skill’.). Freud style genius in the making here, though not for the lower classes, this is a high society skill to be propagated! Incessant flirting is only so in the podunk village Danika comes from, that is probably peopled with retards, so when finally in the limelight Danika goes into overdrive and makes everyone feel threatened . . . Danika should find or create that niche for what she does so well! Don’t miss this comment!

ARTICLE 15

Hordes of randy Republicans were expected to be a boon for Tampa’s Sunshine State many strips clubs, but owners and dancers are still waiting for their RNC stimulus package – by Rich Schapiro / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – Thursday, August 30, 2012, 6:05 AM

Scantily-clad beauties perform at Mons Venus strip club in Tampa on Tuesday. Strippers were promised a booming business with the Republican National Convention in town, but so far it’s been a bust.

TAMPA — The wildly anticipated Republican nudie-bar bonanza has turned out to be a double D-sized bust.

Strippers across this mammary mecca were anticipating an orgy of business this week from the crush of conventioneers.

Instead, three days into the RNC, Tampa’s dancing beauties were still waiting for their stimulus packages.

“My friend told me I’d make $3,000 a night this week,” said a slinky brunette named Jordan, as she gazed dejectedly around an empty Mons Venus bar on Monday, the Isaac washout day in Tampa. “I’ve made $100 tonight and it’s already 3 a.m.”

“I don’t even know what I’m still doing here,” she added. “This sucks.”

Don’t even know what ‘I’m’ still doing here? Don’t be ungrateful! Just look at the jobless GRADUATES who owe the ‘Education-Financiar-Complex’ while interest piles up. Lucky to be earning so much in such nice conditions!

OUR TEAM IN TAMPA REPORTS LIVE FROM THE RNC

The scene was no different at 2001 Odyssey, located just across the street, where some strippers were dealing with their own personal deficit crises.

A dancer named Sicily said she was actually down more than $100 after working Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. Strippers at 2001 Odyssey pay a stage fee every night — and Sicily said the club raised it from $50 to $100 this week.

“I wish I was going home with one dollar in my pocket,” Sicily said. “That’s sad.”

Warren Colazzo, owner of Thee Dollhouse, had predicted that the convention haul would triple the cash brought in during previous Super Bowls hosted in Tampa.

But between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Wednesday, his sleek club drew only one extremely drunk conventioneer in an ill-fitting suit who was seen being reprimanded by a burly security guard.

A pair of cocktail waitresses, in skin-tight American flag corsets and barely-there blue thongs, looked bored.

Asked how her week has been, Karen Kennard, an ample-chested blonde, broke into a pained smile.

“Hashtag 2012 RNC money myth,” quipped Kennard. “I’ve worked four Super Bowls. I was hoping to be inundated financially in Super Bowl proportions, but it definitely hasn’t happened yet.”

Not all of the delegates have acted like choir boys, of course. A smattering of randy Republicans have mixed canoodling with conventioneering.

A portly delegate in a white button-down shirt and khaki pants showed up at 2001 Odyssey Monday night still wearing his convention credentials.

Every five minutes or so, he disappeared into a back room to get a lap dance.

“That guy can’t get enough,” one stripper remarked.

An hour or so later, a politico in a blue blazer emerged from the private VIP area tailed closely by a busty brunette. He made a beeline for the club’s ATM machine and pulled out $400 before walking back out, his hand on the small of her back.

Monica Fox, a stripper at Mons Venus, said a pair of GOP bigwigs stopped by Monday afternoon — and one of them treated her like royalty.

“He had money, and he had no problem spending it,” Fox said.

But she was one of the very lucky ones. At 4 a.m. Wednesday, a heavily tattooed stripper named Anna surveyed the scene at 2001 Odyssey — where a gaggle of girls were jostling for the attention of three guys in suits — and offered her take on why business was so bad.

“To be honest, I think a lot of them just hired escorts,” she said. “That’s more their style.”

See how Tampa strip clubs prepared for the RNC in this video report

rschapiro@nydailynews.com

Craig Warga/New York Daily News

Dancers at Mons Venus strip club in Tampa told The News that business has been terrible.

At 100 per night, 2-3K a month is quite fair! This is relaxing half day shift of 4 hours at most, to just prance around a pole, get some exercise, or get groped and pawed abit! Look at all those degree holding debt ridden graduates who earn nothing for years! Remember to put some aside for your retirement girls! Education should be free, and even then there might be no takers for education!

The Rev. Benedict Groeschel, a New York priest, is apologizing following criticism he’s receiving for saying that priests accused of child sex abuse are often seduced by their accusers and that a first-time offender shouldn’t go to jail.

NEW YORK — A New York priest apologized Thursday after coming under criticism for saying that priests accused of child sex abuse are often seduced by their accusers and that a first-time offender should not go to jail.

The Rev. Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal made the comments in an interview with the National Catholic Register published this week. The website for the conservative independent Register then removed the story and posted an apology for publishing the comments. Groeschel and the friars did as well.

Asked about working with priests involved in abuse, Groeschel said, “Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster – 14, 16, 18 – is the seducer.”

In expanding on his answer, Groeschel also referenced Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State coach convicted of sexually abusing boys, referring to Sandusky as “this poor guy” and wondering why no one said anything for years.

He also added later that anyone involved “on their first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime.”

Editor in Chief Jeanette De Melo posted a note apologizing for “publishing without clarification or challenge Father Benedict Groeschel’s comments that seem to suggest that the child is somehow responsible for abuse. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our publication of that comment was an editorial mistake, for which we sincerely apologize.”

Groeschel also posted an apology to the site. “I did not intend to blame the victim. A priest (or anyone else) who abuses a minor is always wrong and is always responsible. My mind and my way of expressing myself are not as clear as they used to be. I have spent my life trying to help others the best that I could. I deeply regret any harm I have caused to anyone,” he said.

The friars expressed regret for the remarks and highlighted Groeschel’s medical history. They said he had been in a car accident several years ago, and that “in recent months his health, memory and cognitive ability have been failing.” They described the comments as “out of character.”

The Archdiocese of New York repudiated the comments in a statement posted on its website, calling them “simply wrong.”

“Although he is not a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, what Father Groeschel said cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged. The sexual abuse of a minor is a crime, and whoever commits that crime deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.

Groeschel is not a priest with the Archdiocese in any specific parish but has worked with it in the past. He helped start the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in 1987. He hosts a weekly show, “Sunday Night Prime,” on EWTN, the Catholic television network.

Deacon Bernard Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said, “There is never a time when you can blame a minor who is sexually assaulted for the crime perpetrated upon him or her. The responsibility is always with the adult. Sexual abuse of a minor is abhorrent and indefensible. It is especially heinous when the abuse is perpetrated by a cleric.”

David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said there needs to be consequences for figures like Groeschel, “who say incredibly hurtful and mean-spirited things.”

Comments like Groeschel’s “discourage victims, witnesses and whistleblowers from reporting horrific crimes both known and suspected,” he said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Another contrived NLP article? Well here’s an answer for answerings sake. This Groeschel guy is too old, mellow and tired, also too deeply socialised to think through the whys or argue. All of the above articles’ responses were not so easy to elucidate or apply immediately under the barrage of abuse the poor guy got hammered with (as per the NLP manufactured b.s. . . . of course . . . ). As mentioned, earlier, the reptillian brain and the day-to-day personality are entirely different things, and children being partially socialised can and do communicate at different levels. THAT is what Groeschel meant. Not that sexual abuse is normal, especially in consensual cases, but that everything takes 2 hands to clap. Yea for sure, the other Benedict (Arnold? Nope . . . ) needs to grow a thick shell, no amount of NLP fake articles will make child abuses go away . . . honesty is better than harbouring paedophile Catholic (or whatever denomination) Priests. Time for those overdue melons . . . no mellowing here!

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — Republican Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Tuesday of ditching a long-standing work requirement for welfare recipients, accusing him of fostering a “culture of dependency” and backing up the charge with a new television commercial.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the allegations were “blatantly dishonest … hypocrisy knows no bounds.” He added that Romney, while serving as Massachusetts governor, had once petitioned the White House to loosen employment rules for those on welfare.

Romney made his accusation in a relatively rare occurrence in the race for the White House — an appearance before voters outside the small group of battleground states likely to settle the Nov. 6 election.

Illinois and its 20 electoral votes are politically safe territory for Obama in the fall. Romney was there for a fundraiser as well as a stop at a manufacturing company, part of the intense competition between the two candidates to stockpile cash for the stretch run to Election Day.

The president had a pair of fundraisers on his campaign schedule for the day, both within a few blocks of the White House.

In a race as close as this one, the taunts were getting personal.

Romney, interviewed on Fox News, said Obama was “saying things that are not accurate” when it comes to taxes. He referred to a crack the president made on Monday night as “Obama-loney,” rhyming it with baloney.

At a fundraiser, Obama called Romney’s tax plan Robin Hood in reverse — “Romney Hood” — and repeated his accusation that it would mean tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans while forcing the middle class to pay the IRS as much as $2,000 more a year.

The president wants to extend tax breaks due to expire at all income levels, except above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for a couple. He has made his proposal central to a pitch to middle- and working-class voters as he seeks a second term with unemployment at 8.3 percent.

Romney wants to keep the tax cuts in place at all income levels, and has proposed an additional 20 percent reduction in rates.

Romney’s decision to introduce the welfare issue into the campaign seemed aimed at blue-collar, white working-class voters in a weak economy, and suggested that Obama might be gaining ground politically with his position on taxes.

It also marked an attempt to take the gloss off the recent announcement that former President Bill Clinton will have a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. early next month.

Appearing before hundreds of supporters at a manufacturing plant near Chicago, Obama’s hometown, the Republican challenger said bipartisan legislation signed into law by Clinton in 1996 “reformed welfare to encourage people to work. They did not want a culture of dependency to continue to grow in our country,” he said of the then-president and Congress, which was under Republican control at the time.

He said that, just recently, Obama “has tried to reverse that accomplishment by taking the work requirement out of welfare. That is wrong, and If I’m president, I’ll put work back in welfare. …We will end a culture of dependency and restore a culture of good, hard work,” he said.

Romney’s new ad buttressed the point.

“Under Obama’s plan you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you a welfare check, and welfare to work goes back to being plan old welfare,” the announcer says in the commercial.

“Mitt Romney will restore the work requirement.”

Under the law signed by Clinton and amended a decade later, the federal government does not provide a guaranteed benefit to welfare recipients. Instead, the states receive federal funds and are permitted to establish a variety of programs to benefit the poor. The government imposes a limit on the length of time families can receive aid and requires recipients eventually to go to work.

The Romney campaign circulated material during the day that quoted Obama, then a state senator in Illinois, as saying he “probably would have voted against it” if he had been in Congress.

The Obama administration recently announced plans to issue waivers to states that wanted “to test alternative and innovative strategies, policies and procedures” to improve employment among needy families. It said it was acting after receiving requests from some of the nation’s governors, including Republicans in Utah and Nevada. But senior GOP lawmakers attacked the move as an attempt to undermine the welfare-to-work requirements in effect for more than a decade.

Officials with access to detailed advertising information said it appeared the commercial was airing at heavy levels in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia — states where the race is closest.

Romney was himself targeted with a new ad during the day, this one launched by Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that supports Obama.

It features a former Kansas City steelworker who says his company was taken over in 1993 by a group that included Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Romney.

“When Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my health care, and my family lost their health care,” he said. His wife became ill, but “I think maybe she didn’t say anything because she knew we couldn’t afford the insurance,” he says. By the time she went to the hospital, she was diagnosed with cancer and died quickly, he said.

“I do not think Mitt Romney realizes what he’s done to anyone, and furthermore I do not think Mitt Romney is concerned.”

In response, Ryan Williams, a spokesman for Romney, said Obama’s allies “continue to use discredited and dishonest attacks in a contemptible effort to conceal the administration’s deplorable economic record.”

Both parties were fleshing out the speaking schedule for their conventions.

Republicans said Romney’s most persistent primary rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, would have a turn at the speaker’s podium. So, too, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a tea party favorite.

Former President Jimmy Carter will tape a video message to be aired in prime time at the Democratic convention.

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

200K above tax cuts makes no sense and is plutocracy contrived punitive mindedness as hell. That should be REVERSED. 200K and *BELOW* get tax cuts. In fact if cost of living doubles from inflation those earing 200K will still be 10 times readier than those earning 20K a year! What nonsense is Romney spouting? 99% do you see this? Romney is either too stupid or HATES the 99%. The ‘dependency’ excuse is beyond Romney to understand . . . real people are being crushed by inflation and here Romney goes ‘tax cuts ONLY for the rich’. WTH?

A mosque in the Midwestern US state of Missouri has been completely destroyed in a suspected arson attack, the second attack to hit the place of worship in a little more than a month.

Muslim Mosques in the US are filled with jubilance during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Monday incident came a day after a deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek in Wisconsin, which took the lives of six people.

Sikh rights groups have reported a rise in bias attacks since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Washington-based Sikh Coalition has reported more than 700 incidents in the US since 9/11.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Abdul Alim Musa, Imam at Masjid Al-Islam, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Thank you so much for being with us. There seems to be a rise in hate crimes in general. We have seen just a day ago dealing with the Sikhs, and now we have a mosque that has been attacked and basically burnt down. Why do you think that we are seeing this situation, it seems, on the rise?

Musa: [In the Name of God — the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate], it’s clearly a provocation by the Zionist, Israeli press, to tell you the truth. They have raised the spectrum of Islamophobia so high that people feel like there’s no restriction in their behavior and hatred towards Muslims.

This a new phenomenon that’s growing higher and higher because the press has an unrelenting program of anti-Islamic hatred, day in and day out. It’s not only Fox News but it’s the whole Israeli news apparatus inside of the United States and around the world.

We believe that these so-called hate crimes are a result of this type of propaganda, anti-Islamic propaganda that’s spread all over this country.

Press TV: As you’ve just said, Imam Musa, because you’ve talked about the anti-Islamic propaganda, and even with many of the Sikhs that are attacked is because the individuals don’t realize that they are not Muslims.

It seems that Islam is the religion that is under attack the most. What do you think is the responsibility of Muslims? Is it there anything that Muslims can do in general and trying to, as you said, counter what you called the Zionist media’s influence over there?

Musa: Those who have the resources must help us to have our own independent media presence inside of the United States. The only way we can counter falsehood is with truth. It has to be constant. It has to be regular, and it has to be high-profile.

The reason that the people respond to Islamophobia in the press is because they never hear the opposite side. We’re dehumanized and made into inhuman pictures, so to speak, so we have to humanize our self. This is our, and I say Muslim, and people of conscious. It’s our responsibility to educate the public.

You have to remember that the American people are generally a good and fair people. These are general American citizens. What happens is when they’re not properly informed, trained or educated, then they use the news media as their sounding tool.

This is our problem. We have to step up, number one, our unity and cooperation among each other; and number two, our entire media profile.

I would like to say one thing on this issue of mosque burning. There has been over the decades no mosque burning in the African-American community because the African-American community is more familiar with Islam and Muslims, and usually one member of a family in Africa-America will have some association with Islam.

Therefore, people know more about the improved behavior of someone when they become a Muslim.

But the general public only hears the terrorist bombings, uncivilized behavior planted in the media by the Israeli press.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

As long as the Islamists among Muslims try to subjugate or consider themselves above every other faith much like Zionists among Jews do the same, Islam and to a lesser extent, Monotheism is the enemy of humanity.

Moody’s downgraded nearly 300 U.S. municipal issuers in the second quarter, the most for any quarter in more than a decade and the latest sign of the potential pressure building in the market where states and local governments raise money.

Local areas across the U.S. have been struggling for several years after the recession sharply undercut revenues, with three cities in California recently filing for bankruptcy in an attempt to alleviate their financial burdens.

Tax receipts have rebounded but not enough to compensate for rising costs, which include healthcare spending, social welfare and labor.

About half of the downgrades in the quarter affected the debt of cities and school districts, such as that of Clark County in Nevada, one of the largest in the U.S., Moody’s said. The school district serves five cities including Las Vegas.

In the quarter, Moody’s also downgraded $6.9bn of rated debt associated with Detroit, Michigan’s biggest city, and cut the ratings for Stockton, California ahead of the city’s bankruptcy filing. The city filed for bankruptcy on June 28.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The number of incorporated town and cities is over 30,000 but defining the actual cities and towns from their metropolitan areas has a wide margin or error. In 2002, the National League of Cities put the total at 19,429 municipal governments in the US. So 300 municiples is NOTHING and represents less than 2%. Is this to say that 98% of Municipals are doing well? In that case USA should not be in debt anymore. Moody’s still feels like Cheeries . . .

ARTICLE 4

Syria: Potential to Kick Start World War III: Stand by for War, Syria is not in Control

Syria. The latest war front to open between the super powers of the North, East, West, and South. Fundamentalists, with an emphasis on the “mental” will be in a slavish, mouth hanging-open, drooling fervor, this could be the end of the world. The Bear in the North, Israel under threat, the dragon in the East…

The truth is that this nothing more than another pissing competition between the various super powers. A potential cold-war like flash-point of our age.

The United States cares nothing for democracy in the region, what they do care about is oil, and Israel. Anything else is ancillary. They do care to show up China, Russia, and anyone else who as an ideological stand against the Western ideal.

China and Russia are concerned for oil and couldn’t give a flying one about Israel or much else. They certainly do seem to be having a great deal of fun vetoing the shit out of the UN and blocking the US and it’s allies.

Iran sided this week with Syria as well, Israel continues to make more and more threatening noises about bombing them, or rather their nuclear programme, but it is unlikely to happen. In order to render Iran’s nuclear programme inert, you’d pretty much have to kickoff world war III.

What of course is happening is that a gigantic amount of military hardware is gathering in the Mediterranean Sea. It is frankly, epic in its scale and of course has been missed by every mainstream (politically influenced) media outlet.

The Turkish navy is there in force, as are of course, the Syrians. The Americans have no less than three aircraft carriers there and the Russian and Chinese have a sizable force. Iran is there of course, as are the Bulgarians, the Romanians, the Ukrainians, and the Georgians. The French, British, and Germans are in the area as well.

This is possibly one of the largest naval build ups in history, and they are all squashed together into a small, tight space, waving their guns about and bristling with military testosterone.

All it will take to start the largest naval battle the world has seen, closely followed by World War III, is one idiot to push a button by accident. I guess future generations, once the ocean has stopped glowing, will have one of the most amazing dive experiences to visit.

There is only one thing that will prevent this from happening. The US, China, Europeans, and Russians must decide on how to divide up the spoils of the Syrian’s war before someone accidentally pushes the wrong button. Look for a “no-fly zone” discussion, that usually means that all parties are nearing some kind of agreement.

No doubt this negotiation over the bones of Syria is going on behind closed doors, Syria has lost control, there is no way that they will be able to retain their own country with the four great vulture nations hanging around in a black cloud.

Someone is supplying the Syrians and someone is supplying the “rebels”. It is unlikely that a bunch of rag-tag rebels can hold off what is a highly sophisticated Syrian Military machine. That means that both sides, the US & Europe vs the Russians & Chinese, have iron on the ground and most likely their own troops in logistical support.

One question remains. Will the four great vultures be able to figure out how to divide the spoils before World War III starts?

One thing is certain. Syria is dead.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This will not be WW3, but an unpleasant skirmish that holds Israel as the biggest threat because of potential suicidal retaliation with nukes. If everyone keeps their nukes unused, a regional war will that may involve all Islamist countries may occur.

Europe is no lover of Jews, and may remain neutral though the hawks among EUrope may join to no great effect. Africa does not care but could represent auxillery backup to SCO if BRICS gets involved. South America does not care. ASEAN has no viable military resources excepting Thailand’s single aircraft carrier.

That may leave Russia and China (if not bribed with policy to not involve military – one wonders if China might want this opportunity to get Israel for allowing Israeli servers to host Falungong’s website though . . . ) to struggle over control of Syria and perhaps an Iran overrun Israel (that could in panic use nukes to hit Iran and irradiate the entire Middle East including Israel – but by not doing so will definitely be overrun barring high tech methods, if Iran moves quickly).

USA if not ready to commit 100s of 1000s of troops to liberate Israel, will be forced out of the Middle East. If US does send troops, this will be a war of liberation that might take decades to resolve.

Syria will survive but it will be Assad who will benefit most from the above scenario with everyone busy with war, even then Assad has to go due to term limit issues, and eventually have to face tribunals though this could be decades ESPECIALLY if Syria provides the infrastructure for China and Russia to control Syria that looks to be happening now.

Under the Achaemenids, Aramaic continued to prosper, but Assyrian continued its decline. The language’s final demise came about during the Hellenistic period when it was further marginalized by Koine Greek, even though Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use in literary tradition well into Parthian times.

Neo-Assyrian Empire

The religion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, 911 BCE-608 BCE, sometimes called Ashurism by Assyrians today, centered around the god Assur, patron deity of the city of Assur, besides Ishtar patroness of Nineveh. Gods such as Sin, Shamash, Nisroch, Adad (Hadad), Enlil, Shulman, Dagan, Tammuz and Ninurta were also important in the Assyrian pantheon. The Assyrians adopted Eastern Rite Christianity during the course of the 1st to the 4th centuries AD (which they still retain) and the religion died out, although there is some evidence to suggest that it survived in isolated pockets well into the late Middle Ages in northern Mesopotamia/Assyria, particularly around Ashur and Harran.

The people of Mesopotamia were polytheistic Sumerian and Akkadian religions. This was represented through the gradual takeover by Ashur of the roles of other gods, and this process runs parallel with the expansionist policies of the Assyrian Empire.[6] As the Assyrians extended their domain over other lands, they considered it important that the local peoples acknowledge the Assyrian king as the king of their lands as well. However, kingship at the time was linked very closely with the idea of divine mandate.[7] The Assyrian king, whilst not being a god himself, was acknowledged as the chief servant of the chief god, Ashur. In this manner, the king’s authority was seen as absolute so long as the high priest reassured the peoples that the gods, or in the case of the henotheistic Assyrians, the God, was pleased with the current ruler.[7] For the Assyrians who lived in Assur and the surrounding lands, this system was the norm. For the conquered peoples, however, it was novel, particularly to the people of smaller city-states. In time, Assur was promoted from being the local deity of Assur to the overlord of the vast Assyrian domain,[7] with worship being conducted in his name throughout the lands of the Assyrians. With the worship of Assur across much of the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrian king could command the loyalty of his fellow servants of Assur.

Ashur (Syria), the patron deity of the city of Assur from the Late Bronze Age, was in constant rivalry with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk (Israel). Therefore safe to say that Judaism is powered by the spirit of Marduk though not necessarily worshipped in the correct form.

The last king of Babylon, the Assyrian born Nabonidus, paid little attention to politics, preferring to obsess with worship of the moon god Sin, leaving day to day rule to his son Belshazzar. This and the fact that the Persians and Medes to the east were growing in power now that the might of Assyria that had held them in vassalage for centuries was gone, spelt the death knell for native Mesopotamian power. Considering this link, the best would be to revive the Mesopotamian Ugarit Pantheons or regional war will never end. The spirits of the Elder Gods will never abide being bound in Monotheist forms and will thus create and foment war for eternity until they are reformed around the city state Deity concept. Various Gnostic such as Sabianism and Mandeanism, also still exist.

Bring Back Assyrian Cuneiform

This “mixed” method of writing continued through the end of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, although there were periods when “purism” was in fashion and there was a more marked tendency to spell out the words laboriously, in preference to using signs with a phonetic complement. After the Arab Islamic invasion and conquest in the 7th Century AD, both Assyria and Babylonia were dissolved. Do semitic Netanyahu and semitic Assad (speak and use Arabic at your own risk Assad, be thankful Syria is no more part of the OIC, the independence of Syria was aided by expulsion . . . ) also Lebanon, realise where they stand now? Unless Zoroaster rises faster, for now Sargon is more likely than Xerxes . . .

The driver was obviously not affluent. Yet, despite all the news about mega-trillion dollar bankster bailouts, mega-million dollar bonuses for financial crooks, and unimaginable compensation packages for corporate CEOs who have moved middle class jobs out of America, something made the down-and-out pickup truck driver associate with the political party of the super-rich.

As I wondered at this strange alliance of the dirt poor with the mega-rich, I remembered that in 2004 Thomas Frank wondered about how the Republicans had managed to convince the poor to vote against their best interests. Frank’s answer, or part of his answer, is that the Republicans use “social issues,” such as gay marriage and Janet Jackson’s exposed nipple to work up indignation over the threat to moral values posed by liberal Democrats.

The working poor have been convinced by Republican propaganda that voting Democrat means giving the working poor’s tax dollars to the non-working poor, to providing medical care and schooling for illegal aliens, and being soft on terrorism.

To the pick-up truck driver, standing up for America means standing up for bankster bailouts and the military/security complex’s multi-trillion dollar wars.

The Karl Rove Dirty Tricks Team has honed the Republican propaganda. Republicans send each other via email an endless number of nonsense stories about Obama being a Muslim, about Obama being a Marxist, about Obama being a Manchurian Candidate turning America over to the New World Order or the United Nations, or to some other dastardly plotting organization. But never is Obama accused of turning the US over to Wall Street, the military/security complex, or Israel.

There is never any citation or source for the accusations in the emails. None are needed, because the words are what the Republicans want to hear. Ask them why Obama would be killing Muslims in seven countries if he was a Muslim, or why Wall Street and the military/security complex would put a Marxist in the White House, and they turn purple with rage. Just by asking the obvious questions instead of joining in the denunciations, a person confirms the propaganda that America is threatened by Obama dupes who won’t stand up for the country.

The non-affluent who rage about welfare, medicaid, Obamacare, and public schools can’t seem to put two and two together. The $750 billion TARP bankster bailout, a small part of the total and ongoing bailout, would have sufficed to cover any holes in these budgets for a long time.. Instead, the money went to reward those who caused the financial crisis and threw millions of Americans out of their homes. As far as I know, the pickup truck driver is one of the dispossessed.

The same brainwashed Americans who rage against Obamacare and are lined up to vote for Romney are oblivious to the fact that Romney, while governor of the eastern liberal Democratic state of Massachusetts, had his version of Obamacare enacted at the state level.

The greatest irony about Obamacare is that it was written by the private insurance companies and diverts Medicaid and Medicare funds to their profits. It is socialized medicine alright, but it is socialism for the private insurance companies.

All it took to convince Red staters to go along with the military/security complex squandering $6 trillion on the Iraq and Afghan wars was yellow ribbon decals and a slogan, “support the troops.”

Obama, Republicans claim, won’t stand up to Syria, or against Iran, or for Israel. But Republicans are proud when Romney goes to Israel to slither on his belly pandering to the crazed, blood-thirsty Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, who called Israeli top generals “pussies” for warning against attacking Iran. Romney told Netanyahu, just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it; I am loyal to Israel. Apparently, flag-waving Republican patriots are not bothered when their presidential candidate announces that as soon as he is in office he will turn over US foreign policy to Netanyahu and send more americans to death and bankruptcy for Netanyahu.

Karl Rove didn’t have any trouble at all in brainwashing red staters to support their own demise. The pickup truck driver could just as well have sported a bumper sticker that read: “Don’t support a Democrat. He might do something for you.”

Yes, I know. It is almost as easy to beat up on Democrats. Bush and Cheney and their neocon hoodlums destroyed the Constitution and, thereby, America. But the Democrats let them. It was Nancy Pelosi, who as Speaker of the House stridently declared Bush’s impeachment to be “off the table.”

Bush and Cheney unquestionably violated both US and international laws and the Constitution. Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to hold them accountable established the precedent that the executive branch is no longer accountable to law or to the Constitution. In effect, the executive branch now comprises a dictatorship. It acts outside of law and constitutional restraints. On some issues it still has to consult with Congress or the courts, but as the executive branch’s power and audacity grows, consultation will become a formality and then drop away. Congress will have no more influence than the Roman senate under the empire, and courts will become stages for show trials.

Americans elected Obama president expecting that he would restore the rule of law. Instead, he codified the Bush regime’s transgressions and added some of his own. No one of my generation could have imagined the president of the US sitting in the Oval Office signing off on lists of American citizens to be murdered without evidence or due process of law.

So which do you want? The Republican panderer to the rich and Israel whose foreign policy is war or the Democrat panderer to the rich and Israel whose foreign policy is war? As Gerald Celente wrote in the July issue of the Trends Journal, americans “argue among themselves why their freak is better than the other freak. They will get angry with you if you call their freak a freak. They will actually fight and die to defend their freaks.”

It is extraordinary that millions of americans actually believe fervently that it matters whether Romney freak or Obama freak gets elected. If americans had any sense, they would stay home and not vote. The 1% control the country, and the 99% had just as well own up to it and stay at home. Nothing is going to change because of the ballot box.

What do you suppose the Ron Paul supporters will do? Will they see Romney as the less socialist of the two and vote for the Republicans who stole the nomination from Ron Paul? (Jaret Glenn, “How the GOP Establishment Stole the Nomination from Ron Paul,” published on August 6 on the OpEdNews website. (http://www.opednews.com/populum/printer_friendly.php?content=a&id=154033)

The US is ruled by a private oligarchy. The government is merely their front. The country’s resources are diverted to the pockets of Wall Street, the military/security complex, and to the service of greater Israel. The oil, mining, timber, and agribusiness companies control the Environmental Protection Agency and the Forestry Service, which is why regulation only pertains to the small individual, while fracking, mountaintop removal mining, and pollution of air, water, and soil run wild.

The oligarchs have succeeded in making americans a dispossessed majority in their own country. In November americans will again give their approval to one of the oligarchy’s two candidates.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Right minded, intended to be sarcastic (meaning the less well read might take verbatim for truth!) and ends with an unpleasant NLP : “The oligarchs have succeeded in making Americans a dispossessed majority in their own country. In November americans will again give their approval to one of the oligarchy’s two candidates.” Inadvertent or intentional? In this day of subliminal TV, even the best can be affected and NGOs have been known to be ‘taken over’ . . . how democratic or freedom loving Paul Craig is we may never know.

So we must note . . . NO. The oligarchs have NOT succeeded and do not deserve to succeed EVER. Vote only for Joe Public types not worth more than a handful of millions! The poorer, the less GLC linked the better!

If Americans had any sense, they would stay home and not vote. The 1% control the country, and the 99% had just as well own up to it and stay at home. Nothing is going to change because of the ballot box. WRONG.

More negativist NLPs?If a Joe Public type runs for election in ALL states then voting will make a difference. Not voting is even more dangerous. The bad candidates on either side(s) want you to not vote. that way their en bloc voters will dominate, while those who did not vote and could have toppled the vote might have managed to put their votes together to prevent or counter balance the vote into someone better.

Those who don’t vote are killing democracy but an independent candidate is also needed to make for a choice (actually Anna Hazare suggested a (None of The Above Box) on ballot papers as well, meanwhile run for candidacy if your candidate is GLC, plutocrat or more than 2 terms in office . . .

Articles May Be Reproduced Only With Authorship of Br Nathanael Kapner & Link To Real Jew News (SM)

THE GOYIM IN AMERIKA have allowed Jewry to socially engineer them into fearing to criticize “the Jewish people.”

The oft-heard response by the Gentile mass man to any criticism of the Jews is:

“I have a great love for the Jewish people” (although he only knows one or two Jews) and, “My neighbor is Jewish and he’s a really nice guy.”

Yet, this “really nice Jewish guy” is in corporate unity (owing to his identifying as a “Jew”) with a highly organized race centered around a politically-charged religious bloc that has imposed its total control on Amerika:

Control of Amerika’s Money

The Jewish-owned Federal Reserve Bank loans ‘book-entried money’ to the US at interest. Both Greenspan and Bernanke recently confessed that the Fed was “privately-held.”

Control of Amerika’s Industry

Jewish Wall Street donates huge sums to presidential campaigns, playing both sides of the Right-Left hoax.

Jewish Investment Banks like Goldman Sachs underwrite the stocks of US corporations and thus dictate the offshoring of America’s blue and white collar manufacturing jobs to China and India for cheap labor and BIG profits.

Control of Amerika’s Politicians

Both the Republican and Democrat Parties are manipulated by Jewish money.

The Jewish-controlled Republican Party decided to snub Ron Paul, forbidding him to speak at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

The Military brass depends on the Jewish-owned Fed for their paychecks and on the Armaments Industry, whose stocks are underwritten by Jewish Investment Banks like Goldman Sachs, for their post-military careers & perks.

High-powered Jews sit on the Boards of Military manufacturers such as Kenneth Duberstein, Media consultant, who serves on the Board of the Boeing Company. And Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, is a verified stooge of the Jews. Chuckie & Leon were former roommates.

Control of Amerika’s Public Schools

The American Federation of Teachers is run by Jews and the ADL has infiltrated the Public Schools, brainwashing young children with homosexual and race-mixing/miscegenation books.

Control of Amerika’s Academia

Jewry donates huge grants to the Ivy League Schools and apparently places Jewish personnel in high positions such as David Skorton, President of Cornell.

Jewish Wall Street mogul, Sanford Weil, Chairman Emeritus of Citigroup, is a major benefactor of Cornell University and also funds 500 Academies via his National Academy Foundation.

Control of Amerika’s Supreme Court

Three Jews sit on the Supreme Court Bench: Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While Jewry makes up less than 2% of the US population it maintains 33% representation on Amerika’s highest bench.

Two of the largest “think tanks” are the American Enterprise Institute and the Foreign Policy Initiative – once the Project for a New American Century. Both brought us the LIE of Saddam’s WMD and both are Jewish-Neocon dominated.

Non-Government Organizations, used by the CIA as covert operational entities, are Jewish-dominated. Billionaire Jew, George Soros, oversees a myriad of NGO’s.

The National Endowment for Democracy — a CIA cover — is Jewish-run.

AMERICA WAS ONCE the ‘home of the brave’ and the ‘land of the free.’ Today, Amerika is the home of the Jews and the land of Gentile slaves.

But to aim one single criticism at just one single Jew is not only taboo it could get you a One Way Ticket to Guantanamo Bay…

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Propaganda within propaganda? To ferret out ‘Jew haters’?

Israel is many times smaller than USA. And understand that fiat currency has no value. Whatever the banks think banks have as wealth is actually DEBT on the promise of future labour of individuals who can retire, default, fall ill, get hurt or age and then be unable to pay back. Debt is not wealth. Debt is slavery. And if Zionists own slavery, all that takes is for the world’s citizens to default on payments to Zion owned banks. There is no real wealth that Zionists have, all that takes is a rebellion/default against banks which results in bankruptcies that destroys so-called ‘wealth’.

Israel has no real resources barring monopoly on Judaism which is not mainstream even in USA. USA HAS real solid commodity type resources. So USA has wealth. That is all anyone needs to know. Banks do not exist. Banks are a ponzi scheme. Fiat is a ponzi scheme. Among all alphabet departments and bureaus only the police (and in war torn regions, military) have real value which we pay for by unreasonably imposed taxes that keep rising. The police themselves get nothing but serve the 1% because they ‘might’ become the same oppressors of mankind. Excepting top brass, the military being low profile might end up on the streets homeless . . .

Real wealth is whatever REAL tangible property owned, and I do not mean tiny pigeon hole coop hi-rise apartments or rabbit hutch terraces or even those high density duplexes with barely 10 feet of space on each side. Commodities are wealth though severely infected by fiat and ‘bank wealth’ – could be affected by price corrections. Drop the fiat and stock and banks (with unreasonable and waaay beyond interest rate charges) and we will see real wealth. Other than convenience of conveyance and liquidation which can be done with precious metals, banks have no value at all and in fact entrap wealth into low earnings paradigms unlike land and real goods and real services and real skills and real labour. There is no money. So Israel has in effect no influence on the 99% who must learn to boycott and buy practical goods. That debt owned by banks is liable to defaulters or bank collapse. That leaves ‘Shylock’ with no real wealth. Run for election and vote only for Joe Public types.

And stop spouting here Bro Nat, prepare a political campaign, and stand for election in the district or state currently residing in, to remove the lovers of Zionists among USA’s governors, USA’s congressmen etc.. Zionists are no better than world conquest intent Nazis or greedy plutocrats.

Whilst it is defended by some as “culture”, the production of Chicken and Cowmeat results in the suffering of millions of cows, chickens, sheep and pigs (also called Pork) every year in several countries around the world, most notably in Western countries.

What is Meat?

Chicken meat and, to a lesser extent, pig also sheep meat is often eaten for its perceived health benefits, or as food to accompany wine and beer or hides tanned and made into clothing much like human skin can also be processed. Its production has evolved from small-scale businesses into billion-dollar industries. Many chickens and cows are taken from the farms (stolen pets or strays included) but in some countries millions of cows and sheep are intensively bred and farmed in terrible conditions. The tens of millions of animals used in this industry each year undergo prolonged suffering through transportation and handling, and face an agonising death.

What you should know?

The availability of Chicken and Cow or Sheep meat is most widespread in Asia, where conservative estimates suggest that over 180 million chickens and more than 400 million cows are humanely culled for human consumption each year. It is estimated that 100-200 million sheep are consumed annually in USA, 50 million in England, 200 million in English speaking countries, 5 million in the Antilles, and an unknown but large quantity in Europe; though some believe the true figures to be far greater. meat is also popular in some areas, notably in England’s and USA’s backwood’s province where chicken and cow are part of famous traditional dishes: “Surf and Turf” or “Bangers and Mash” which are beef and pork meat dishes.

In USA a liquid or ‘juice’ made from beef and chicken is sometimes consumed as a ‘tonic’ for its perceived health properties, or made into ‘blood pudding’. However, wherever Chicken and Cowmeat is popularly eaten, the industry either operates unregulated or illegally.

Chicken and Cowmeat production is inherently cruel. It is widely acknowledged that these animals cannot be raised and slaughtered humanely for commercial use. In USA, England and many European and western countries there are thousands of pig or sheep farms where pigs are intensively bred and reared for meat production. On these farms even their most basic needs are not met, such as the provision of adequate food and water and veterinary care, and physical and mental suffering is obvious. If they are not farmed, the chickens and cows used in the meat trade are either stolen pets or unowned strays taken from the street. In meat markets in some countries, the animals are slaughtered in full view of each other. Unhygienic and stressful conditions on farms and in markets result in high levels of mortality.

Many countries in the world have humane methods of slaughtering chickens and cows for human consumption but do not use the methods due to added yet tolerable cost. Common methods of slaughtering these animals include electrocution, hanging and beating with the worst cases involving eating the animals while ALIVE as if Americans and Europeans were animals with no humane method of culling (much less humanely) before consmption. There are also numerous reports of animals being dehaired and cooked whilst still alive. Unfortunately, in countries where Chicken, Sheepmeat ((also called mutton) and Cowmeat (also called beef) is consumed, it has either not yet been banned, or the existing legislation is not being sufficiently enforced, such as in the USA where chicken and cow meat has never been banned.

Whilst in some countries Chicken and Cowmeat is often consumed for its perceived health benefits, there is a growing body of evidence highlighting the significant risk its production and consumption can pose to human health. For example, the trade in pigs and cows for meat has been linked to outbreaks of H1N1, Mad Cow Disease and FMD, and there have been numerous reports from USA, England and many western countries of mad cow disease or H1n1 or FMD virus transmission to humans after preparing or consuming cow or chicken meat.

Whilst Chicken and Cowmeat is often fiercely defended as part of ‘culture’ or ‘tradition’, it is a highly contentious and emotive issue in most countries where it is popular, and it is therefore sometimes advertised as something else to avoid negative attention from passers-by or law enforcers where its consumption is illegal. For example, an investigation in London revealed through DNA testing that in several restaurants across the city, chicken and cow meat was being passed off as dog and cat meat.

What you can do

Culture or tradition can never be an excuse for animal cruelty. If you care about animals, never be tempted to try chicken or cow meat – wherever it is available, it will always be the product of immense suffering. This means all fast food joints serving chicken and beef. Whilst in some countries Chicken and Cowmeat is not yet banned, if you do see the meat for sale in countries where the industry is illegal, such as religious countries, please report this to your travel agent or tour operator and to a local animal protection organisation.

Where does this occur?

Chicken (also called Fowl) and cowmeat, also pork (Pig) and mutton (Sheep) and Goat, are consumed in several areas of the world, including parts of USA, England, Europe and many western countries. However, cow and chicken, also pig and sheep consumption is most commonplace in America and Europe, and tourists are most likely to encounter meat from the inhumane battery condition farms in the countries.

What do you do when the city where you live is dying? All over the United States formerly great cities are crumbling, but some are definitely in worse shape than others. One reader recently wrote to me about what she sees happening all around her in Reno, Nevada. The unemployment rate in Reno is now up to 11.7 percent, which is well above the national average of 8.3 percent. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The recent recession hit Nevada particularly hard and people have been moving out of the state in waves. In fact, the labor force in Nevada has shrunk by close to 20 percent over the past year as workers have moved elsewhere in search of work. But even though the labor force is now nearly 20 percent smaller, the unemployment rate is still well above 11 percent. There simply are not enough jobs in large Nevada cities such as Reno and Las Vegas. Unfortunately for Reno, it does not have the same kind of big corporate money pouring into it that Las Vegas does. The good news is that you can buy a house very, very cheaply in Reno because homes were foreclosed on in droves during the housing crash. Even today, some housing developments that were put up near the end of the boom times look like virtual ghost towns. The main industry in Reno is “entertainment”, but many of Reno’s strip clubs and gambling establishments have aged so badly at this point that they just look kind of depressing. I guess that is kind of fitting, because Nevada has the fifth highest suicide rate in the nation, and Reno has been ranked as one of the top 10 depressed cities in the entire country. As the city has declined, gangs have moved in and the drug trade is flourishing. Reno has been called the meth capital of America, and crime is on the rise. Despite being surrounded by tremendous natural beauty, Reno has become a very unpleasant place in which to live. But what is happening in Reno is also happening in hundreds of other communities across the United States. Our economy is collapsing and our cities are crumbling right in front of our eyes, and it is only going to get worse from here.

A reader of my site named Heather who has been unemployed since November of last year recently shared the following with me….

I am living in Reno/Sparks Nevada and I feel like it is ground zero for collapse. There are a lot of people who are in denial right now and cannot see the larger picture. I keep also saying we are the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country. It is quite depressing driving around seeing empty office buildings with vacancies and retail areas just empty. Went to the stores and retail seems pretty slow also. I am volunteering at ProNet locally and it helps unemployed people finds jobs and skills. It has been depressing there too with very little jobs out there for many people who need one.

She said that I should share what is happening in Reno with my readers. She wanted people to know what those living in Reno are going through.

You might think that since Reno is so sunny, so warm and surrounded by such natural beauty that it would be one of the happiest places in America.

Unfortunately it turns out that the opposite is true.

Reno is actually a very sad place.

In fact, last year Men’s Health ranked Reno as the ninth saddest city in the United States.

In response to this ranking, one resident of Reno wrote the following….

In light of this disheartening list-making, it is, of course, important for Nevadans to look on the bright side. Rather than allowing these statistics to depress us further, we can consider them a series of challenges that make living in places like Reno and Las Vegas all the more impressive. You don’t just live in Reno. You survive Reno! To dwell in Reno, you must triumph over the odds that are stacked against you—one of the things we’re supposed to do best here.

If we can withstand all of the emotional curveballs thrown at us because we have selected such a turbulent location in which to reside, we can probably survive anything.

As a lifelong Renoite, I am inclined to respond to these lists with defiance. Yeah, things can look pretty grim sometimes when no one can find a job, and there seems to be no way out.

And that is how many Americans are feeling these days. They are broke, unemployed, depressed and out of options.

How can you pick up and start a new life somewhere else when you have no job and no money?

Sadly, a lot of younger Americans are turning to drugs in an attempt to escape the pain of their daily lives.

One article that I found attempted to find humor in the raging meth epidemic that is happening in Reno….

Reno has been affectionately called the meth capital of the nation. Some foolishly think mass drug usage can ravage a city as swiftly as it can ruin a user’s clear complexion. In all reality, drug addiction is no more than an endearing quirk, certainly not a cause for concern. Babies and adolescents with addiction-addled parents should stop being coddled and learn how to take care of themselves. I’ve been doing my own laundry since I was six months old­ — I’m sure they can do the same. If there is anything disturbing about the meth problem in Reno, it’s that it shows the lack of variety in this town. Why don’t you try some uppers like MDMA? Your teeth will thank me.

Unfortunately, Reno is far from alone. In the past I have written about how formerly great cities such as Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore are completely falling apart as well. This kind of thing is literally happening from coast to coast.

There is a very serious lack of decent jobs in America right now. At this point only 24.6 percent of all jobs in the United States are good jobs.

This has made it increasingly difficult for Americans to be able to take care of themselves.

If you can believe it, more than 100 million Americans are on welfare at this point.

And that number does not even include the tens of millions of people that are on Social Security and Medicare.

What in the world has happened to us?

These days most Americans work really hard all of their lives but never end up reaching their dreams.

In fact, one recent study found that 46 percent of all Americans die with less than $10,000 worth of financial assets.

Talk about depressing.

But instead of having us focus on how bad the economic numbers are, the Federal Reserve wants to start measuring how “happy” everyone is. The following is from a recent ABC News article….

Ben Bernanke wants to know if you are happy.

The Federal Reserve chairman said Monday that gauging happiness can be as important for measuring economic progress as determining whether inflation is low or unemployment high. Economics isn’t just about money and material benefits, Bernanke said. It is also about understanding and promoting “the enhancement of well-being.”

So what would you say if the Federal Reserve contacted you and asked if you are happy?

Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below….

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Nonsense. USA could simply distribute all unused land , and tell the people to grow their own crops and build their own houses, raise their own livestock, make their own leather or fur goods, knit their own cotton wear, compost their own sewage, collect their own rainwater or dig their own wells, brew their own beer, roast and grind their own coffee, and grow, ferment and cure their own tobacco leaves for cigars or cigarettes! End of problem, everyone gets a few acres and high-density living ‘hellholes’, will be quite empty without people who have their own land.

BTW there is no such thing as money. There is no such thing as economy or collapse. Too bad for the plutocracy or corporatocracy though! Even if education was free now, citizens will return to 1400s settler-era America not hang around pushing pens and shuffling papers at the 99% of citizens’ expense! Citizens please elect ONLY a President or Governor with the above intent. Executive Order 0 (Zero) for land distribution will be that reset button America needs.

Executive Order 0? Distribute unused land to the homeless with some supplies, by next year when the harvest is in, no more food stamp bills or housing loans in banks for bailouts . . .

People have lived without electricity or petrol since man learnt to walk upright. BTW there is also no such thing as poor people, jobs, concept of money much less a petro-dollar or a Global Financial System or a recession or depression. Alright ‘chicken little(s) if America can’t think what to do or apply what I posted, then the American voters deserve what they get. Simply vote for non-GLC or millionaire Joe Public types who before being voted for, sign statuary declarations to do the above suggested!

Groups like Anonymous should start pushing this voting method/agenda via subliminal rootkits and what not. Lets remove the plutocrats and term limitless Oligarchs from the picture and ensure equitable wealth distribution and political power distribution (with 2 term limits) as well.

ARTICLE 9

Jerry Boykin: Romney’s new Muslim-bashing pal – Posted on 10. Aug, 2012 by Editor in US – Romney meets with Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who has said Islam “should not be protected under the First Amendment” – BY ALEX SEITZ-WALD

He may be too extreme for West Point and George W. Bush, but apparently not for Mitt Romney. Politico reports today that the Republican presidential nominee met with retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is now a highly controversial anti-Islam activist, in a private conclave with four other social conservative leaders in Denver last week. The day after the meeting reportedly took place, Romney dodged a question on Rep. Michele Bachmann’s witch hunt against Muslims in the U.S. government. “I’m not going to tell other people what things to talk about. Those are not things that are part of my campaign,” he said at a press availability about Bachmann’s allegations last Friday.

Boykin is best known for earning a public rebuke from President Bush himself in 2003 for his vitriolic anti-Islamic rhetoric. Boykin, in uniform at the time, gave a speech portraying the war against Islamist militants as a Christian struggle against Satan, and suggested that Muslims worship an ”idol” and not ”a real God.” Some Republican lawmakers spoke out against him, as well as the president, who said, Boykin’s opinions “didn’t reflect” his or the government’s views. A year later, a Department of Defense investigation determined that Boykin had violated three internal rules while delivering his controversial anti-Islamic speeches.

Since then, Boykin has taken up fighting the perceived threat of Shariah law full-time. As People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog notes, “his rhetoric is often bigoted, and he regularly traffics in wild-eyed conspiracy theories — like the one about Obama creating a Hitler-style militia to force Marxism on the American people.” In 2010, he joined with Frank Gaffney, a key anti-Islamic activist, to lead an effort to produce a massive report on the threat of Sharia law.

For all this, he was forced to withdraw from a speaking invitation at West Point under intense pressure in January of this year. More recently, he was appointed to a senior position at the social conservative Family Research Council. And that’s how he ended up meeting privately with Romney.

Two other members of the group that met with Romney, social conservative activists Gary Bauer and James Dobson, signed on to a letter to House Speaker John Boehner praising Bachmann’s “good judgment, undeniable courage, and great patriotism” for “bravely demanding answers” about potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration in the U.S. government. Boykin, Right Wing Watch notes, signed on to a separate letter expressing “strong support for congressional efforts to illuminate and address the danger posed by influence operations mounted by the Muslim Brotherhood against government agencies.”

Boykin’s rhetoric goes beyond the careful position most activists tend to stake out — condemn Islamists, but praise “peaceful, pro-America” Muslims. Boykin, on the other hand, goes right after the religion itself, saying Islam “should not be protected under the First Amendment.” He’s declared that there should be “no mosques in America” because “a mosque is an embassy for Islam and they recognize only a global caliphate.”

Considering that Romney’s own faith has repeatedly come under attack over the past century and half, one would think he would be more sympathetic to the plight of religious minorities in this country and not associate himself, whether publicly or privately, with such extremists.

Pay attention to whats going on . . .

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon’s political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Muslims must know their allowed spaces in the world. Romney looks capable of handling this, though appearing quite cynical at times and self serving to a fault (privilege has this effect, how does one obtain a lifetime supply of ‘chezburgers’ . . . distribute some to the bottom of the 99% starving on the streets Romney if not helping army veterans . . . ), excepting that USA looks to be quite inadequate financially as of now. Never though, be unreasonable or abusive to those Muslims who do not dhimmify, do not proselytize or do not attempt to convert (there are those who ‘convert’ secretly or refuse to let their children choose, so careful there children, non-Muslims and non-Monotheists!).

Let there be spaces for all faiths, not proselytize and destroy the faiths and cultures of others . . .

There are many new fronts that are non-military that USA must be able to counter. Obama might need to be ready to show hand in readying people like Boykin above to not appear soft, and the ‘Muslim’ tendency to mass mindedness and social-trade based mobbing to subvert with that mass mind is particularly uncivilised and has affected many. USA needs to have a stronger ‘mind’ not necessarily a (disgusting) hive mind, but indoctrination to counter precisely where Islam intends to ‘colonise’ and to set clear limits where areas of tolerance will be.

I suggest Egypt be off limits where Islam is concerned and worked on by all relevant parties immediately – A PHAROANATE as a West oriented barrier (Egypt before conquest by Bedouin Arabs was a Pharoanate with culture that has been largely copied by the Freemasons. Should a Pharoanate reform, instead of Islamists AGAIN (this is why the Egyptian Military are still influential) Free Masonry even English Free masonry would likely come under the Pharoah’s purview.

The Pharoah (re-enactment), flanked by the Worshipful Master and Grand Hierophants . . . a true blood Egyptian without Arab blood (and a REAL Egyptian name), identified from DNA records should be re-installed as Pharoah with all Priests of non-Egyptian blood considered OUTER ORDER Freemasons (that means English Masons will be ranked below Egyptian Freemasons and if the King of England is a Freemason, the Pharoanate will be Master over England via the English Monarch . . . the glory days days of the Nile and Egyptian Pantheons will again grace the world . . . Got that you military guys in Egypt?

This is Egypt NOT Bedouin Arabia, don’t let the Islamists push non-Muslims around in a secular country . . . let there be as many Egyptian Temples as there are Mosques! And who knows after the Pharoanate is reestablished, if enough Royal Egyptians overseas love the countries they migrated to and live in to be interred there in death, even Pyramids of VVIPs might be built and seen overseas around the world! Freedom of faith as per the UN Charter!

Do not be consumed by faith systems not your own, you people of Egypt! With re-Persianisation if Iran, through Syria and in cooperation with Russia and China with the Eastern Khanates (North cultural barrier), India comfortably holding the (Eastern barrier) East and African Animists holding the South against Islam’s overproliferation and destruction of all local non-Islamic cultures and non-Islamic faiths. Figurines or artwork depicting humans and living things in Islam are also illegal, so Africa and Egypt which have a thriving industry and tourism based around artworks, should think about the differences in culture and artistic natures of the original peoples, as well as conquests which displaced original faith systems etc..

Persia before conquest by Bedouin Arabs was Zoroastrianism with a Persian culture. Suggestion to re-Persianise or re-Zoroastrianise and build away from quake zones.

This is no joke, take a look at Cat Stevens or Hudud accepting CHINESE politicians in Malaysia. Subverted in a most troubling manner. Finally we need the UN Human Rights Charter to be applied in full 60+ years after establishment. No more apartheid, no more extreme religion must be tolerated. USA has lots of friends in Saudi Arabia? Make these mentioned things reality otherwise USA will be taken apart with Europe and even Russia next. Revitalise old faith traditions worldwide, reculturise and be firm USA!

This is Persia’s Original Faith System. Will the High Priest of Zoroaster be restored to Persian society’s rightful place? Way of the Vulture!

After announcing possible amendments banning Russian officials from owning real estate and other property abroad, the State Duma is planning a ban on public servants marrying foreigners.

The author of the bill, United Russia MP Evgeny Fyodorov has told the press that the document includes this restriction.

“Wives and underage children of civil servants must also declare their property and cannot own property or real estate outside the Russian Federation. If a civil servant’s spouse is a foreigner, this person would not have the right to occupy the post. The officials will have to vacate their post if they wish to marry foreigners,” the Lifenews website quoted Fyodorov as saying.

The MP added that foreign spouses were a major factor of foreign influence on state officials and the situation had to change.

The move will not be an absolutely new invention, but the tightening of the existing norms that state that the officials with clearance to work with state secrets cannot marry foreigners.

On the other hand, Fyodorov said that the group that is working on the bill decided to soften it by excluding the Commonwealth of Independent States from the list of countries where civil servants cannot have property.

“We were one country before and many people have relatives there, their roots are there and we will not list the territories of the CIS states or the Customs Union as foreign states where property ownership is banned. We will bring this issue up at the second reading,” Fyodorov said.

The move was supported by Sergey Zheleznyak, the head of United Russia faction in the lower house.

Earlier this month all parliamentary factions in the State Duma backed the proposal to ban the civil servants from owning property abroad, including securities and bank deposits. The MPs suggested those violating this regulation should be held criminally responsible and punished with a three-year ban from holding public office, and between 5 and 10 million rubles (US$150,000 – $300,000) in fines, or up to five years in prison.

An initial draft of the bill also orders civil servants to disclose ownership of foreign property, and sell it off within six months. The law would apply to inherited property and even to individuals leaving state service, effective up to three years post-resignation for both ex-officials and their families.

There are exceptions in the bill for those who need foreign property and bank accounts for work, medical treatment or academic studies.

The Duma has got this one right. VERY Russian! But Russia which is a stabilizing force in the world by providing multipolar option needs to ensure their intelligence or influence in decision is not compromised. A NWO or even worse (though not so likely) Femi-nazi led world with women controlling Duma or Russian male officials through their wives is the worst case scenario possible. Then there is also the Muslim subversion tactics issue using Muslim women to manipulate non-Muslim women hence affecting non-Muslim men etc., which less ethical Muslims use to further Islam via NLPs, even cartoons and porn etc.. Russia needs as much as USA to ensure that Muslims know where their territories physical and mental, even EMOTIONAL and PSYCHIC are, instead of trying to control the world with Islam, and dhimmitise everyone who is not Muslim. Terrorists are not Muslims but there are Muslims proselytizing who are not respecting the rights of other faiths and peoples, this Russia must address equally firmly though not in an abusive manner.

Man, 51, screamed at officers and waved 11-inch knife erratically
Shot twice in the stomach by officers and died in hospital
He refused repeated orders to drop weapon in one of New York’s busiest tourist spots

Police shot and killed a man who lunged at them with a machete in Times Square as he screamed ‘Shoot me, shoot me’.

The terrifying stand-off happened on Saturday afternoon at 3pm in Times Square and was witnessed by dozens of bystanders.

Officers had approached the 51-year-old man who appeared to be smoking marijuana near West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, in the heart of Times Square, one of New York’s busiest tourist destinations.

Scroll down for video
Terror on the streets: NYPD officers, with their weapons drawn, stalk a machete wielding man in the middle of Times Square

The unidentified 30-year-old male was corralled down seventh avenue by officers of the NYPD as they instructed him to drop his weapon

The man became agitated, pulled out an 11-inch knife and began to put a bandanna on his head, police said.

He refused repeated orders to drop the weapon and began backing down the avenue, continuing for a number of blocks and drawing many officers into a slow-speed pursuit that took them south of Times Square.

According to the police account, officers pepper sprayed the man six times but he held onto the knife throughout the seven-block pursuit.

At West 37th Street, he lunged at police and two officers shot him in the torso, police said. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.

‘They screamed, ”Put it down, put it down,”’ said newsstand worker Sunny Choi, 26, of police orders to the man.

Another witness said that tourists were screaming and running down the packed thoroughfare as the man was corralled down Seventh Avenue by police.

The incident was filmed by witnesses in Times Square as the man screamed obscenities at the police

On the move: Police chased down the 51-year-old waving a knife in the mid-town area of New York

Witnesses recalled a chaotic scene in which some bystanders took cover, while others began following the procession down the avenue in an attempt to capture cellphone video of it.

On video, a number of officers, guns drawn, can be seen pursuing the man as he appears to skip down Seventh Avenue.

‘He was swinging at people as he ran,’ Jobby Nogver, a 17-year-old visiting from Boston, told The New York Times.

Nogver watched as police surrounded the man and fired. ‘I can’t tell you how many shots,’ he said.

Video taken at the scene from witnesses’ cell phone suggested that approximately ten rounds were fired.

Bewildered: Onlookers shouted at the man to do what the police were telling him but he did not seem to listen

Chaos: Times Square is one of New York’s busiest tourist destinations

Busy streets: Witnesses following the unfolding scene down from New York’s Times Square

The dreadlocked man has not been identified yet because he was carrying no identification on him, said police.

Priscilla Rocha, a tourist from Brazil, was visiting Times Square with her husband when they saw the confrontation.

‘I almost had a heart attack,” she told the Times. ‘Everyone started running.’

NYPD Commissioner Paul Browne told MailOnline: ‘A man armed with a knife was pepper sprayed by officers to no effect, advanced on officers, refused to drop his weapon and was shot by police on 7th Avenue between 37th and 38th streets’.

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital while suffering from cardiac arrest.

He was in serious condition for just over an hour before he died from his injuries, police said.

Horror: ‘Omg! Time to go home!! Man in times square with a machete …like 20 cops came out of nowhere with guns drawn! I’m traumatized!!’ said another

Scared: ‘Just saw a guy with a knife, 30 cops and more than 5 police cars running by me at Times Square. What’s up???’ tweeted one woman

Mr Browne added that some officers were being treated for tinnitus, or ringing of the ears, at an area hospital.

A video of the event shows multiple police vehicles surrounding a man on Seventh Avenue before dozens of cops descend on him.

The sound of gunshots can be heard shortly thereafter.

Witnesses were in disbelief; reeling from the dramatic scene that unfolded in front of them.

‘Just saw a dude with a butcher size knife get chased through times square by cops. Apparently, they chased him down and shot him,’ one witness tweeted.

‘Omg! Time to go home!! Man in times square with a machete …like 20 cops came out of nowhere with guns drawn! I’m traumatized!!’ said another.

’20 police officers against 1 person…. Killed him right in the middle of the street,’ said another.

Great fast track way to become instantly famous, or ‘infamous’ (remember to drop the weapon in time though book and film rights can be obtained if not shot to death . . . ). Try the wild west. Or kung fu. Obviously the police are not well trained enough or the appropriate units were not ‘deployed’. Isn’t there a special balaclava wearing unit with personnel on call 24-7 for disarming this sort of occasional agent provocateur? What are we training those commandos or special agents for? We see so many guns disarmed on TV that any knifewielder when met with 20 men does not need a shot fired. Or is this drama to hide the neurotech nano-particles possibly already installed in all NYers if not a statement that neurotech will not be used at least in obvious cases like these, only limited to controlling dissidents and activists instead?

Just 1 highly trained person who could appear in a ‘CIA’ or ‘FBI’ truck to disarm and capture alive (does not require an entire SWAT team). 20 men with guns being unable to capture alive (3 ordinary cops unarmed could do the job, 1 cop who is able to aim at the hand (think 6-shooter carrying country Westerns . . . the cops of the day are as unskilled as hell), how about a fully armoured American Football player . . . or a particularly determined granny with a heavy handbag . . .) feels like that joke about how many people are needed to replace a light bulb. If America not about life and liberty? Theres 1 more life lost and the odds are shameful. Who knows what crimes occured in the background with this guy being a DECOY . . . so if 2000 psychos appeared at various streets, would that mean New York which hires less than 38,000 police would be undefended entirely from all criminals who also can also time themselves to act at the same time?

Maybe criminals could use such decoys to draw the attention of the police while pulling off the crimes elsewhere . . . what about terrorists? If 20,000 terrorists acted all at once, would the whole USA collapse into anarchy? Watch Escape from New York (1981 John Carpenter) . . . hope that the Prez. (whenever if even possible)that sort of scenario happens, likes wearing ‘Wayne’s World’ (1992 Penelope Spheeris) style wigs and getting BJs from Johnny English – oops was that Harry Dean Stanton instead (whats with the Dragonball Character in the background btw . . .) . . . 1997 didn’t turn out quite like expected but hey, if USA picks a fight with enough countries to diminish local enforcement funding resources because wars and parasite defense contractors profiteer and cost too much, we could yet get to see a ‘Wigger’ or a ‘Snakepiss’ for real . . . up to another ‘Escape From‘ film Jack Russel?

Is USA ready for a LGBT President? Or a hetero and straight male President who just likes wearing women’s wigs?

After bikers straddled by topless beauties hit the streets to draw attention to “safe driving” by taking everyone’s eyes off the road, a judge has hit them with a fine. Not for indecent exposure, but for violating Russia’s new protest law.

A video of the event of July 6 shows three women strip down to their g-strings before climbing onto the backs of three-wheelers and taking off. The girls, one of whom was not even wearing a helmet, unfurled yellow banners bearing the words “safe driving” as they made their way to the heart of St. Petersburg.

Once the video went viral and made its way to the press, scandalized local police immediately sought out the bikers for questioning, Fontaka.ru website reports.

Investigators scoured local bike dealerships looking to identify the culprits. A prominent dealer contacted Sergey, one of the bikers who took part in the demo, telling him the trio should stop by and have a talk with the city’s traffic police. They did, expecting to hear something about missing helmets (never mind bras) or moving violations. What came next threw Sergey for a loop.

Following a report from the city police which claimed the bikers’ behavior constituted a violation of public order, the easy riders involved in the topless run were all summoned to appear in Magistrates Court two weeks later (sans their exhibitionist companions). They were strangely charged with taking part in an unsanctioned rally, even though the ride was at best a racy public service announcement.

The judge presiding over the case apparently viewed the topless joyride as an unauthorized demonstration (of female beauty?), fining the trio 10,000 rubles (around $316 dollars) each. Under the amended law on protests, those taking parts in demonstrations where public order is violated but no damage to health or property are registered face fines of up to 20,000 rubles (approximately $632) and 40 hours community service.

After determining that the accused were all upstanding citizens, the judge decided to show leniency, strapping them with the minimum allowable fine.

Besides the fact that a similar topless “protest” went off last year without a hitch (or a charge), the ruling has served to confuse Russians, who are accustomed to biker rallies making bold statements that are rarely political.

And if there is any lesson to learn from this case it might be that it’s okay to hit the streets of Russia without a helmet or even a top, but just be careful not to ask people to drive safely.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Russia’s democracy acid test. Russia slides back into Soviet Era Cold War or rises into something that the USA might have difficulty catching up with. Thats for the judges to carefully decide . . .

Free American (unregistered) August 09, 2012, 03:09 quote

Does this mean that the people of Russia are not allowed to protest or hold demonstrations? I thought Russia was freed from communism? What happened to Glasnost? I cannot even imagine what it would be like to live in such a communist country that would pass laws against protesting or demonstrating anything they don’t like. Wow! Reading this even Makes me more appreciative of my freedom. Thank God I live in the USA~

Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln to either have sex or watch
Condoms, pornography and even underwear has been left at beauty spot
North Kesteven District Council tried to tackle problem with ‘day of action’ at woods

‘Doggers’ who love being watched while having sex are turning a beauty spot into a ‘sleaze park’ say furious villagers.

Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln, with occupants either having frantic sex sessions or gathering round to get thrills from watching.

It has been reported that many of the men who turn up for the sessions are wearing smart business suits and drive expensive cars, while the women are in designer dresses and top-of-the-range shoes.
Sleazy: Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln, with occupants either having frantic sex sessions or gathering round to get thrills from watching

Sleazy: Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln, with occupants either having frantic sex sessions or gathering round to get thrills from watching

They then pick out a partner and either rush into the woods or simply strip off and start having sex in full view, residents say.

They leave behind condoms, pornography and even underwear, to the disgust of locals.

Parents are now worried the sex free-for-all will attract perverts to the area and put their children in danger.

North Kesteven District Council recently tried to tackle the problem with a ‘day of action’ at the woods.

‘It’s sordid. I used to take my granddaughter there but I wouldn’t do that now. You don’t know what you will find, or who you might find.’
Local resident who did not wish to be named

Boulders were placed in parking and turning areas to put off the so-called ‘doggers’ at the Forestry Commission-owned site.

Police patrols have also increased, but locals say the issue has got so bad they now don’t bother to report incidents.

Ray Philips, county councillor for the area, said: ‘Local residents now don’t want to go there. It is really getting out of hand. There is a constant stream of cars.

‘I think the concern is the Forestry Commission don’t seem too concerned about it.’
Hot spot: Villagers say that as well as liaisons between men and women, the beauty spot is also attracting people wanting gay sex (file picture)

Hot spot: Villagers say that as well as liaisons between men and women, the beauty spot is also attracting people wanting gay sex (file picture)

The problem has grown because many dogging websites name Stapleford Wood as a popular place to meet up. The lurid activity is not just at night-time. Drivers meet up even in daylight hours, residents said.

One, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We used to make complaints to the police but there is no point any more. It’s quite intimidating when there are a lot of them. They sit there staring at you.

‘It’s sordid. I used to take my granddaughter there but I wouldn’t do that now. You don’t know what you will find, or who you might find.’

Villagers say that as well as liaisons between men and women, the beauty spot is also attracting people wanting gay sex.

Insp Mike Jones, of Lincolnshire Police, said: ‘We’re having as much success as anyone else in the country in dealing with this problem.’

Meanwhile, Nigel Lowthrop, owner of nearby social enterprise Hill Holt Wood, wants to take over management of the forest.

He said: ‘It’s got worse. It’s horrendous. It puts off a lot of parents and you wouldn’t expect children to go there.’

Richard Darn, a spokesman for the Forestry Commission, said: ‘I think it’s a case of working hard at this but I don’t think there is a magic bullet.

‘No-one can be there 24/7 to patrol a woodland that size.’

The 750-acre wood was purchased from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1945.

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. (AP) — Nudist resorts have a reputation for attracting older adults, but one Florida park is trying to change that.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel (http://sunsent.nl/RAS2ZV) reports Sunsport Gardens will hold a weekend bash aimed at attracting nudists ages 18 to 30. The Florida Young Naturist’s Fourth Annual End of Summer Naked Bash is slated to be a celebration of nudity and body acceptance.

Sunsport Gardens principal shareholder Morley Schloss tells the paper the park has been trying to bring in younger members with lower prices, 24-hour hot tubs and Friday night drum circles.

The gathering at the 40-acre Loxahatchee park is expected to gather several hundred young adults. Nudist resorts around the country have been working to attract a younger crowd.
___

These people may not look much now, but they were at the forefront of the 70s hippy and liberty anti-Vietnam war era and still are. Unfortunately they should be running for election to remove all the other old people who are ‘hawks’ or who hate LGBT or refuse to amend laws to leglise and control prices of organic psychedelics at least. This is where the previous generation fail to engage the youth. The laws are not even there to protect things like this.

Look at the number of people in prison for smoking abit of pot or whatever. Then the young people who are abused systematically with the psychiatric establishment etc. for having dissenting views or differing lifestyles. Address these and not be like ‘Madonna’ running off to Malawi but not even addressing the systemic abuses so long as Madonna can enjoy herself and look good while everyone else gets thrown into jail because the laws were not amended by candidates from the ‘cool’ set getting into politics specifically to amend laws! All that money is for nothing, serves no purpose or anyone. Think and act, not teach the young to take things for granted! Open nude zones in EVERY city commensurate with the size of the community.

Try the movie Blink (Michael Apted 1994), scene where an cop/customer strips on the dance floor without any issue (01:41 to 03:33). That may not be best all the time and not everyone can pull this off, but in proper context is tolerable, an arrest would be inappropriate . . . These days tolerance levels are low as hell . . .

You’ve got to hand it to Chelsee Healey because despite what her fashion critics have to say, she is keen to dress however makes her happy.

Celebrating her 24th birthday, last Saturday the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant flashed her bra in a sheer white spotty blouse complete with ruffles as she made her way to dinner.

And continuing to show off her unique style last night she was pictured heading into The Rose Club wearing a pair of revealing black disco shorts.

Showing off again: Chelsee Healey was pictured last night as she headed to The Rose Club in London

Too late now: The petite actress wore a pair of tight disco shorts but was seen trying to cover her bottom as she turned away from photographers

But this time around, Chelsee didn’t appear to want to show off too much and tried to hide her derriere from photographers as she walked into the London hotspot.

She teamed the shorts with a patent pin striped jacket and a black top.

Wearing her hair up in one, the Waterloo Road star completed her look with a black sparkly clutch bag and donned a pair of spiked ankle boots.

Unique style: The 24-year-old teamed the shorts with a patent pin striped jacket

Taking to Twitter to share her excitement about heading to the Marylebone club to celebrate the success of UK rapper Wiley’s first number one solo single Heatwave, she uploaded several posts.

She tweeted: ‘London For @Wiley__ Party!! #number1 can’t wait to see my @leylaloola’

And in another post she wrote: ‘Rose Club… Sounding Kinda Deeeeeeeecent’

Party girl: Chelsee took to her Twitter account to tweet about how much she was looking forward to the night ahead

‘Decent night’: Chelsee uploaded a picture of herself and Wiley to her Twitter page

‘Decent night’: Chelsee uploaded a picture of herself and Wiley to her Twitter page

Known as the King of Grime, Wiley is practically royalty on the UK music scene, so it’s no surprise that his single party was heaving with a guestlist full of big names.

And the young actress’ night got better when she bumped into Wiley, and she wasted no time getting a picture with him which she quickly uploaded to her Twitter page.

Tilting her head to the side and giving her best post as her wrapped his arm around her neck, Chelsee looked delighted to have run into the Rolex rapper.

The caption on the picture read: ‘Me and @Wiley__ deecent night! #HeatWave#number1’

Polka dot potty: On Saturday Chelsee opted for a sheer white spotted blouse with a pair of shorts for a night out in Manchester to celebrate her birthday

Chelsee Healey’s ‘undercrack’ or ‘cheek’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dull but helpful demogoguery. Lower half decolletage is not being revealing as neither upper half decolletage is. This like the is the underboob version of standard ‘boob’ cleavage – ‘undercheek’ much like whale tail (butt crack) cleavage is ‘lower half decolletage cleavage’ (New meme! My invention! Undercheek . . . ). Besides the thong form bikini isn’t exactly beaten in skimpiness or less skimpy than this. No big issue, especially for those who aren’t fundo minded! Show abit of ‘undercheek’, and frankly wearing a thong form bikini is only one leotard less from being totally covered up.

THIS response is value added, not like bad law writing. So put people like us in power for 2 terms and see society bloom like society should, not be crippled and oppressed by bold-faced aged term limitless nepotists, fundos and plutocrats! Nudist Zones and risque Clothing Zones as well!

Vanessa and Johnny announced the end of their 14-year relationship earlier this year.

The 39-year-old gave a hint of what was to come in her interview, talking about being in love but finding it was making you ‘unhappy’.

‘When you meet the love of your life, it’s just obvious and natural and easier,’ she said.

‘You keep learning all the time. Sometimes you could be in an unhappy relationship; you are very much in love with someone, but it’s making you unhappy and you think things can change and you can work it out.’

Depp, 49, and Vanessa have two children, Lily-Rose, 13, and Jack, 9.

She and the American star, who never married, had not been seen at a public event together since 2010.

Vanessa did not attend any of the promotional events for recent film Dark Shadows or The Rum Diaries, in which he starred alongside blonde bisexual actress Amber Heard, 26, whom Depp has been romantically linked to.

Love of her life: But after 14 years together Johnny Depp and Vanessa announced their split earlier this year

Vanessa also talks about her rise to fame as a pretty 14-year-old, with her hit Joe le Taxi.

‘I was for sure not prepared for fame when it happened,’ she said. ‘But nobody pushed me to do it. I wanted to sing, to dance, to work.’

Vanessa now divides her time between France and Los Angeles, where her children attend school.

But she says she does not plan on conforming to the American idea of beauty, and will not be having plastic surgery.

‘I don’t work in America, so I don’t feel the pressure.’

And as to looking for a new partner, she says: ‘Well, my type is obviously creative. Creative, with burning eyes and a pretty mouth.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Like said before, one iconic movie is what any actor or actress needs. VP was lucky to have got started ahead of most people and should have left the ‘movie’ scene once she reached 20 million (or 5 for more comfort to protect that fragility with) and focused on quality of life, Not burning the candle on both ends to become burnt out at 38. At the ripe old age of 23 (9 years of ‘career’ is more than enough if fragility is to be preserved), retirement and seeking a worthy life partner would have been ideal. The rest of us had no choice, though VP did yet did not cash in the chips early enough and instead got into the ‘jaded’ crowd of overgrown plutocrat actors struggling to no useful end making so many films starring the same person imprinting on the masses the pathos and flaws, poisoning and stagnating rather than rejuvenating and moving society (instead of guarding fragility . . . ) . . . undemocratic!

Frankly casting people and directors represent a hegemony on popular film and culture, the best casting or selection system would be one where ALL or as many citizens worldwide would VOTE for the most suitable person for such and such a role, let the timeframe be a decade or population quorum based, around a number of countries or worldwide depending on the script, and let that single fat paycheck be the last and a limited one that the lucky selected people or person offering themselves selected will get BY the votes of as many would be movie goers as possible, not what one or a a handful of biased (or abusive?) ‘international film house’ producers, casting directors and funders that take advantage of the (poorer, younger and less cultivated set at their most vulnerable) decide. Therein lies the Sudra/caste damning/soul sacrificing dilemma.

So many are not the film or actor that the people wanted, but a handful of dictators taking advantage of the lack of a democratic system in the film industry to work for elite propaganda in too many cases. One does not need decades of film to be remembered, the one-off cult classic is more memorable or well loved than some actors or groupings that dominate the movie scene for decades on end hashing out so many films and homogenizing the film goers into zombies ‘who watched out of having no choice’ in the process, though especially unique films should be featured more than the conventional ‘big budget’ film.

Democracy and citizen involvement in script or cast selections make for good films! Not your handful of film dictators.

They hope the Chinese will not support us. – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek

(The Star) – MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has condemned the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) for bringing up an alleged agreement in the 1960s between the party and the Government to limit the number of Chinese independent schools.

“Dong Zong talks about this issue to frighten the Chinese community so they will hate the MCA and Barisan Nasional.

“They hope the Chinese will not support us,” he said.

He said that although MCA was not perfect, it was undeniable that the party was doing its best for Chinese education.

Citing an example, Dr Chua said Malaysia was the only country in the region that had a complete Chinese education system from primary to university level.

He was speaking to reporters after a ground-breaking ceremony for a double-storey building with 12 classrooms at SJK (C) Karas here yesterday.

Also present at the event were Labis MP and Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Deputy Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong and Johor exco member Tan Kok Hong.

Dr Chua said whether or not the agreement existed in the 1960s was not important anymore as it had become history.

“The country needs more trilingual talent to increase its trade volume and the trade volume between Malaysia and countries that use Chinese as their main language is about 20% of the total.

“That’s why we need to train more people to have good English, Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin,” he said.

“Today, Malaysia has a good relationship with China and the trade volume between the two countries has reached US$100bil (RM318bil),” he added.

On another matter, Dr Chua said Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had failed to answer if Pakatan Rakyat was going to build more Chinese primary schools, Chinese independent schools, institutionalise allocations for Chinese schools and recognise the Unified Examination Certificate should Pakatan take over Putrajaya.

“I have been waiting for the answer for the past two weeks,” he said. Dr Chua said Dong Zong should get the answer for the sake of Chinese education.

;could provide REAL organic independent candidates (possibly funded by most righteous businessmen – M.R.B.) from the powerful and experienced YET non-plutocratic teachers of DJZ’s ranks to displace MCA’s term limitless lapdogs. I’d vote for a DJZ candidate ANY DAY over MCA (lapdog, plutocrat) or even DAP (nepotistic abusive, undemocratic like Singapore). DJZ how about fielding candidates from retired teachers IN EVERY MCA and even EVERY DAP constituency with clear intent to leave after 2 terms and address the immense collusion by both MCA and DAP sacrificing ending apartheid and the entire minority community for a mere few undemocratic political careerists to parasite off MP and Assemblyman salaries and extreme plutocrat businessmen? Ethics is lacking in MCA and DAP, DJZ needs to do some TEACHING – grassroots style!

Any other plutocrats in BN you cowards! Billions worth enough to hire armies of thugs and guards and not a word against apartheid? Against a backdrop of homelands 100s of times larger and more powerful than the wrong minded racists to be taken as lapdogs by a handful of racists? Undemocratic and term limitless but no attempt to end apartheid? Let DJZ take over ALL Chinese majority constituencies! MCA lapdogs and DAP careerist undemocratic nepotists have had their chance and FAILED . . . lead 3rd Force, DJZ, perhaps with Tunku Aziz which DAP idiotically sacked, might lead the minorities to grant the above 3 items with DJZ . . .

(The Malaysian Insider) – MCA will never agree to any implementation of hudud for non-Muslims, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has said.

The MCA president was responding to a Johor Umno state assemblyman’s recent proposal that the Islamic penal law be implemented to cover all residents in the state.

“The Johor Umno Adun must have run out of ideas and out of his mind 2 propose hudud in Johor including non-Muslims. MCA will definitely object it,” Dr Chua said on micro-blogging site Twitter last night.

Umno’s Kemelah state assemblyman Ayub Rahmat was quoted by online news portal Malaysiakini as saying he wished to see Johor to become the first state to implement “true hudud law”, which he claimed would differ from PAS’s version.

Ayub said his version of hudud law would be non-discriminatory as the adherents of all religions would be subjected to it in Johor.

“The Syariah Criminal Code (II) 1993 State of Kelantan does not reflect the true requirements of Islam. It creates discrimination in terms of execution (among Muslims and non-Muslims),” Ayub had said.

The Umno assemblyman, who made the proposal on the June 20 sitting of the Johor state assembly, said his proposal would help non-Muslims understand the implementation of hudud law, while accusing PAS of having failed to do so.

Hudud is a contentious issue in multicultural and multireligious Malaysia. It is often used as fodder by political parties either to engender support or attack ideological opponents.

So divisive is the topic that it even pits close allies against one another.

Within the Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact, PAS leaders have publicly stated their support for the implementation of such laws, while the DAP has argued that it went against the spirit of the Federal Constitution.

…
written by Voice of Reason, July 02, 2012 21:01:35
It was only a matter of time when certain educated Malays were going to ask “What makes you so special that you get to escape from hudud and we have no choice but to suffer?” and demands it be implemented on everyone or no one..

…
written by j lee, July 02, 2012 19:25:59
Surely that can be challenged, right up to the International Courts of Justice, if need be. This is just and ignorant’s view, just ignore him. Unless it is a plan to create a non-issue so that MCA can then be seen like a champion of the people.

…

written by Bean, July 02, 2012 17:02:59
If they implement hudud for all races in Johore, BN sure to lose. The chinese girls like to wear hot pants, mini skirts, have very short hair and men like to go to pub to drink. Chinese girls will not wear the tudung. What about eating pork? Even if BN will to win, the chinese will start migrating to other states, and the economy of Johore will decline.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

See the above sandiwara and no mention of END OF APARTHEID? Read below and understand that they have the mandate but will not use the mandate to end apartheid :

Troll Jousting is the act of retorting comments on blogs that have been placed by trolls, or paid commentators who place comments to support a particular vested interest. The Troll Jouster places comments that show the falseness of the Troll

Wow nice Troll Jousting dude, you really bitch slapped that Troll.

Yeah, thanks eh brah! I couldn’t believe that Pro Nuke Troll was actually saying that radiation can be beneficial to your health. I had to slap ’em back in case some innocent bystander saw that Troll comment and believed it.

Well, good work dude, keep up the Troll jousting on that blog, and remember, there are NO innocent bystanders.

BN is unvotable and now stages ‘Troll Jousting’ drama to misdirect from the BUMIPUTRA APARTHEID ISSUE so that UMNO and MCA and even MIC or whatever member party gets to continue parasiting off the Rakyat.

The failure by police to immediately arrest Perkasa members involved in violence not just against members of the public and reporters but also make direct threats against my personal safety has only confirmed fears that Perkasa can do no wrong because they are supported by UMNO and BN.

Police should review their hands-off approach towards Perkasa to avoid public perception that they condone the violent tactics by Perkasa to intimidate PR leaders.

Yesterday’s incident in Teluk Bahang market, where Perkasa members were allowed to conduct a demonstration and throw anti-Lim Guan Eng posters close to me, only shows that whilst there was police presence the police just stood by and watched.

The inaction by the police probably emboldened a Perkasa member to suddenly charge up behind me and succeeded in brushing hard against me. Even though the Perkasa member had brushed hard against me, I escaped injury.

But if not for a PR local leader bravely dragging the Perkasa member away, I could have been injured. Dragging the Perkasa member away from threatening my safety should have been the duty and responsibility of the police, not PR local leaders.

No arrests – why?

The failure of the police to offer adequate protection was followed by the failure of the police to immediately arrest the Perkasa member involved. Just imagine how harsh police reaction would have been if this had involved the Prime Minister and not the Chinese PR Chief Minister.

This unfortunate incident had happened even though the Speaker of the Penang State Assembly, Dato Abdul Halim bin Hussain had informed police of the demonstration by Perkasa and ask for adequate protection and stern action.

However despite a record of serial violence against the public, reporters and even PR leaders by Perkasa, Perkasa can still behave in a violent manner without fear of punishment.

Despite recording the second highest reduction in crime index as at May 2012(a reduction of 23%), police have been under scrutiny in Penang due to several high profile crime incidents in Penang in the heritage, tourist and some housing areas.

The failure to even adequately protect the Chief Minister will not lend public confidence in the ability of the police to ensure public safety when they can not act quickly against those who threaten the safety of the Chief Minister.

Lim Guan Eng is the Penang Chief Minister and DAP sec-gen (Brought to you by Carls Jr.)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Politicians who fail to keep election promises have already assassinated themselves politically. Just baiting for the physical assassination when they keep pretending campaign promises were kept and abusing by-laws that should be amended but do not. The Rakyat will move on to politicians that can keep their word and not miss those who committed political suicide by failing to keep election promises. The dirty work of physical assassination is but an after thought, like failed beneficiaries of nepotism that destroy democracy and put down the general public, refuse to amend laws and claim credit for the good works of others by being self serving parrots. Lets hope PERKASA moves faster so that the next generation of 2 term politicians have space to move into politics. take out the nepotistic political blocs PERKASA, and be sure to know that BN’s own nepotists and failed apartheid politicians will also suffer the same fate as ‘refuse to amend law’, ‘become CM without quorum’, ‘lie about declaring MP asset’, ‘fail to keep promise for local election’, etc.. trash politician here.

2 terms and nothing done, means no longer viable! And on the back of quorumless nepotism! GTFO of the Dewan! And at least in this case, cheers for PERKASA! Maybe Lim Guan Eng is expressing a subconscious desire to have a dramatic end, or more likely perhaps is just indulging in more ‘Funeral Demogoguery’ AGAIN, where 750K requests for funerals failed and were met with sh1t cakes on the trail of failed campaign promises . . .

ARTICLE 4

Polls delay or not, Najib is ‘in a mess’ – Monday, 02 July 2012 19:43

PAS Murshidul Am Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has described the delay in general election as a morale booster for Pakatan Rakyat.

Saying he was not sure the reason behind the continued reluctance by prime minister Najib Razak (left) to dissolve the parliament, Nik Aziz said the UMNO president was “in a mess”.

“One thing we are sure is that Najib is in a mess,” he said, adding that Najib’s fear could be due to growing opposition strength in UMNO bastion Johor as was seen during PAS’s Green Rally to Putrajaya in the state last Friday.

“In Johor, we have never witnessed before so many people. This proves awareness among people there and the existence of a wave of change,” added the Kelantan Menteri Besar.

PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar meanwhile reminded Najib that the five-year mandate given to Barisan Nasional at the Federal level was under his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

As such, Mahfuz said it was wrong to suggest that Najib was ‘honouring’ the mandate from the people by going for a full term.

Najib had earlier argued that holding snap elections was “shortening the period given by the people” to BN.

“For us, what is important is to show our ability to continue to champion the people,” Najib said.

In an about-turn, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had advised Najib to hold polls after the fasting month, has agreed to the delay.

Prior to this, Najib had hinted that the elections could be called during the Hajj season, when some 30,000 Malaysians on their pilgrimage to Makkah could not vote.

;and PAS because of Hudud (Why the advocacy of irrevocable limb hacking violence for the immatured, impulsive or poor, Tok Guru??? Those limbs will not grow back when those punished by Hudud grow up . . . ) stance, PKR because of nepotism and clique politics, DAP for nepotism and Singaporean term limitless ‘Junta-mindedness’ will be ‘in a mess’.PM Najib, will BN not use that mandate to grant the above? 3rd Force ready to put down these 2 dinosaur coalitions otherwise? BN will always be able to use that mandate (currently not using and angering the voters immensely, with the occasional death fueling more flames to never vote for BN again . . . ) to grant the above 3 items as a final ditch defense to ensure a BN win, so don’t say BN is in a mess, BN can yet survive albeit only by the above 3 items.ARTICLE 5

Jenna Jameson Sued : Give Our Maserati Back!!! Exclusive

Jenna Jameson is currently driving around in a stolen Maserati — this according to the company that leased it to her … and now, it’s suing to get the car back.

Maserati Financial Services filed the lawsuit against Jenna in Orange County Superior Court, claiming it leased a Maserati Quattroporte S to the porn legend back in 2010 for $2,299 a month — but Jenna stopped paying in January.

MFS says it’s been trying to repossess the car to no avail — so now it’s going after Jenna in court, demanding she return the vehicle ASAP … AND pay $107,000 in damages.

Thats around RM7000 a month or RM233 a day (USD$70 therabouts – keep in mind US citizens earn USD$ . . . so Malaysia should also be RM70) for a supercar. Consider in Malaysia where a mid-tier car not even a fraction of the value of a Maserati (not even a low end luxury vehicle) rents at 100-500 a day (with low end luxury or sports vehicles up to 1000 a day much less RM7000 for 1 month) and understand that Malaysia is a RIP-OFF country compounded by the crony favouring Vehicular-AP system and near 300% taxes on ALL vehicles. The smallest vehicles in Malaysia are near 15K USD, while in USA that can get you a medium sized vehicle. In India the prices are about HALF of the above.

So any MP that will not REMOVE Vehicular AP or lower import taxes to 10 times less that what currently is in Malaysia DOES NOT deserve to be voted. Ask your MP if they will lower those import duties and road tax. If they seem unsure or uncertain or do not comment, understand that the MP is unvotable and profiteering off the collusion with vehicle companies. Meanwhile pornstars like Jenna get to enjoy fabulous rental prices in USA, a country that is equally as bankrupt as Malaysia! Too damn high!

See response to article 4 on below link for a look at what our TERM LIMITLESS nepotist and racist satrap politicians have been up to :

A Bentley Mulsanne will cost USD 285,000 (RM 962,588) when it arrives on U.S. shores next year. By the time it reaches Malaysia, the price tag would balloon to RM 3.17 million, according to the 329 percent of duties imposed on a car in this category. Chauffer courses in the USA range from USD$99, in Malaysia such courses can easily begin at USD$300. And guess who is at fault? The 222 MPs (which the idiot voter keep voting that also impose crony benefiting Vehicular-AP on top of that) who refuse to lower tax duties or even bother to ABOLISH road taxes (USA has no road tax, though has road toll concessionaires in some money grubbing states . . . ) :

@shawn says:

January 19th, 2010 at 12:30 pm

I know this is old but I can’t resist from posting this. Import Cars = Sells for a much higher price than overseas (yes even after conversion it is more than 2:1 difference)

Gas Price = Producers My Ass
Toll = Overkill
Road Tax = Overkill

Other countries like USA do not have road tax. The price of gas covers road tax. If you have no idea about how the system works in other countries dont blog about it. Malaysia taxes for import cars, road use and fuel. Other country chooses 1 out of the 3 or maximum 2 out of the 3 charge. Malaysia has all 3 + an impossible amount of tax + horrible road conditions. If you have not been overseas and lived there and/or researched their terms of funding. Don’t blog about it. You’re making urself look stupid. (F— @shawn for snarking about going overseas to live there . . . that is NOT NECESSSARY for ‘research’, but stand for election as a 3rd Force independent candidate @shawn, independent candidates are needed to end this money grubbing farce or colluding plutocrats we call government . . .)

@jo says:

January 27th, 2010 at 11:54 am
you are so right Shawn Bro,,,,Malaysia is taking its own people as guinea pig…..

On top of the abusive tax system which our unvotable MP’s refuse to address, Malaysians are not even allowed to tint their cars for privacy or from the extreme tropical heat, and also not allowed to modify our vehicles which are PRIVATE PROPERTY. So idiot citizens of Malaysia who vote BN or even PR who’s MPs look set to continue APARTHEID or implement hudud, disallow tinting, please run for election as independent 3rd Forcers if you can afford to on the above issues. If 222 independent MPs who decide to abolish Firced Military Conscriptions, Road Tax, Toll Concessionaires AND allow extreme Car Modding (much less merely even tinting), the highways at least would have been freed.

By the second term, the 222 independent MPs would have made Malaysia into the best place in the world to migrate to (abolish road tolls, forced conscriptions, has allodial titles, abolishes eminent domain, end vehicular AP, allows extreme car-modding, . . . so DO NOT VOTE BN (racist and stagnant) or PR (nepotist), and finally remember, kick ALL MPs (even 3rd Forec MPs) out of power after 2 terms! Vote 3rd Force!

(The Malaysian Insider) – Malaysia must overcome corruption and carry out more market-oriented reforms if it is to move up from being a middle-income economy, CIMB Group chief Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and younger brother to the prime minister has told Financial Times (FT).

The youngest son of the country’s second prime minister, Tun Razak Hussein, also told the FT that his eldest brother had “a hell of a task” because “worldwide, no one has really been able to reform from incumbency”.

Nazir’s elder brother and the country’s sixth PM, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has been sprearheading a slew of governmental, economic and social reforms to transform the country, but Malaysia’s top banker seemed to suggest that it was not enough in an interview published in the international business paper today.

“(Corruption) remains a problem and it is something that needs to be combated,” he told FT.

Nazir (picture) told the paper that Malaysia could consider granting an amnesty for those involved in minor corruption, as has been done in Hong Kong and other countries, an idea that the Najib administration has resisted.

“You could argue that when you do that, you will get a lot less resistance from the vested interests, which is always the problem; then say, the past is the past and we all start from scratch. I still believe that’s what is needed,” Nazir was quoted as saying.

He highlighted that there was “still a need to strengthen market forces in general and that is about rolling back government in business, both in terms of bureaucracies but also in terms of its direct involvement.”

Nazir told the paper Putrajaya must push reforms that give more free rein to market forces and roll back government ownership of business through privatisations, such as the public listing of Malaysian palm oil giant Felda Global Ventures Holdings last week, which would also draw in major world business players like Axiata.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government, which Najib heads, has repeatedly come under fire for its less-than-transparent and lavish spending on government procurement projects in areas ranging from agriculture to defence, resulting in scandals such as the RM250 million National Feedlot Centre that failed to cut the country’s beef imports and the multibillion ringgit spent on buying submarines and naval patrol boats.

Malaysia’s score in Transparency International’s corruption perception index has slipping for the fourth year running; on a 10-point scale, where 10 represents no corruption, Malaysia dropped from 5.1 in 2008 to 4.5 in 2009, 4.4 in 2010 and 4.3 in 2011.

The country’s ranking also fell to 60 out of 183 countries — between Saudi Arabia and Cuba — from 56 out of 178 last year.

Malaysia remained the third-least corrupt nation in Asean after Singapore (9.2) and Brunei (5.2), with Thailand (3.4) and Indonesia (3.0) following in fourth and fifth places respectively.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

True, but NEPOTISM and being a beneficiary of nepotism is part of corruption as well, Mr.Brother of the PM. Then read the below comment :

…
written by uxzee, July 02, 2012 14:25:57
“worldwide, no one has really been able to reform from incumbency”.
========================================

Nazir does not understand what he is talking about and is blindly defending his brother Najib. People like Nazir are the corrupted cronies who sweep all the lucrative mega contracts for his CIMB. Will Nazir or CIMB dare to compete strictly on merits and in an open market ? Then we can really see how incompetent Nazir is. It is really sick to give stupid advise when Nazir is in the position of a favoured crony and taking full advantage of it.

And I think Nazir has a skewed view. No need to look worldwide – just look at our neighbour Singapore which has reformed and transformed into a thriving economy and is the largest investor in Malaysia and in most South East Asian countries.

Singapore is no different from Malaysia with relatives everywhere and family blocs as well. The citizens are suffering from parasite oligarch families turning democracies into satrapies and feudal business monopolies. Singapore is a MILITARY BASE which USA has invested in. Singapore is of no value (more so when the Ithsmus of Kra Canal – Devil they designated this your ‘neck’, but Lucifer surely spans all Creation, presumptuous to claim an Ithsmus as his neck???) otherwise but IS a pretext location for US state linked businessmen to justify a strategic military base in ASEAN.

Reformed and transformed? More like colluded and media spun, with the lame excuse of a supposed benevolent dictator . . . USA needs to re-examine their principles and REMOVE term limitless oligarch politicians for REAL love of the increasingly wise world at large. No more are world citizens east european borats, sand niggers, pakees and gooks, the 99% is ready to kick anyone’s ass for lying or overstepping fair authority or throwing fiat scrip at ‘poor countries’ . . .

PUTRAJAYA, July 2 — The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has called on Muslims to raise their level of knowledge, understanding and imbibing of Islamic teachings to protect themselves from being influenced by deviant religious teachings.

The Sultan (picture) said deviant religious teachings were actively being spread by certain groups in the country who regarded Prophet Muhammad’s companions as infidels and their religious teachers as prophets, and approved acts that were contrary to true Islamic teachings.

“This is worrying me as the deviant teachings are being insidiously disseminated through certain organisations.

“As the head of Islamic religion in the state, I do not want deviant religious teachings to influence the minds of the young in schools and higher learning institutions, as well as the community at large.

“Therefore, I hope the fatwa (edicts) that have been gazetted can be effectively enforced, taking into consideration the existing syariah legal provisions,” the Sultan said in his speech in conjunction with the Pemier Islamic Forum at Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) in Bandar Baru Bangi near here tonight.

The Sultan said he wanted issues like lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT), apostasy, religious pluralism, insulting and criticising Islam and other acts which could create conflicts and chaos to be immediately but decorously dealt with.

Sultan Sharafuddin said based on studies carried out, more and more Muslims were involved in LGBT activities which received the support of several non-governmental organisations and through the Internet and social media like Facebook as a medium for communication and interaction.

“I do not want to see the Muslim community divided and weak.

“I urge the Muslim community, particularly the Malays, to be united in protecting the sanctity and position of Islam as the official religion of the federation, so that it will continue to be respected and held in high esteem by all,” he said.

The Sultan also urged Muslims to maintain good relations with the other communities in the country so that peace, harmony and prosperity could prevail.

“The turbulence in some countries of late shows us that disunity will

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Single track minds are a luxury (if not cynical use as tools of control of already generally respectful populations) to behold . . .

This is a genetic issue not a social or religious issue. Nature (or Allah for the Muslims) has designed all of these expressions of humanity both to show us what is wrong and right, and even allows the state of apostasy as is Man’s right to free will that Malaysian Syariah Law ignores – ask the Al Azhar Islamic Universirt at Cairo if denying right to apostasy is correct or reasonable by any country that is supposed to be a Muslim country. Man not state has no right to demand any other to follow and children who have not reached maturity to CHOOSE to be Muslims can hardly be fairly considered Muslims as they would have to reach adulthood first BEFORE choosing to be Muslim, consider facing the prophet or if no real Muslim at all, there is no point.

Though any parents could bring any children up as Muslims, the choice of these children MUST NOT be taken from them – sad to say too many Muslims in Malaysia are of the former sort who have never been given a chance to choose , worse still are those being lured with the opportunity to oppress non-Muslims instead of choosing of free will and out of love of Islam per se. Their reasons for being Muslims are to abuse non-Muslims not because they are pious or fear Allah!

The sanctity and position of Islam as the official religion of the federation will always be viable in those who want to follow. Those who do not or cannot have nothing to do with Islam’s sanctity and hudud or violence must never be used against them! What would the gentle Prophet have done? Hudud is inapplicable, know the difference between REAL Muslims and those who lack the will to challenge a flawed system that entices with evil minded and disenfranchising, racist paradigms.

Shame on those who call themselves pious or Muslim but do not understand or consider the above! No good Muslim or even world citizen will deny any other :

LONDON: An exiled Indian Malaysian human rights lawyer plans to file a lawsuit against the British government for failing to provide adequate safety to the community under the rule of Malay-Muslim majority when independence was granted to the former colony.

London-based Waytha Moorthy claims that the then British Harold MacMillian’s government failed to provide protection to Indian Malaysians when independence was granted to the former colony in 1957.

The 46-year-old lawyer was expected to re-issue a class action lawsuit at the High Court Monday. He is claiming a sum of $1 million in compensation for each one of Malaysia’s 1.8 million Indians.

Originally launched in 2007, but never heard and now out of time, Moorthy’s claim is on behalf of Indian Malaysians who he said face human rights abuses and live unprotected and in “continuous colonisation”.

The then British government gave the Muslim population special rights and privileges, effectively establishing a system of apartheid ever since, he said in a statement.

“In India, at the time of partition, the British government gave rights to minorities.

“In Malaysia, minority racial and religious groups were hung out to dry. The result is that 45 percent of the population is still being marginalised, humiliated and discriminated against when it comes to jobs, education and finance,” said Moorthy, chair of

HINDRAF, an NGO advocating equal rights for Indian Malaysians.

The organisation is banned in Malaysia and Moorthy has been jailed on numerous occasions in that country.

Another strawman? The Malaysian government cannot be left out of this kind of lawsuit even as the English are no longer responsible though the English did initiate the Special Privileges via the Reid Commission which clearly stated only a 15 year period before review for abolishment of what has now become APARTHEID. The Malaysian MPs of whatever race or party who have kept the special privileges in place here the actual offenders. The Malaysian MPs who refuse to bring up or ratify a bill abolishing apartheid are at fault, not the English. Conversely, the English could speak ON Moorthy’s side at this angle condemning Malaysian MPs who refuse to remove apartheid privileges applicable only for 15 years. At the same time, Moorthy could fairly also demand that the ‘Eye of Brahma’ Black Diamond (currently in 3 parts, amongst other stolen treasures held by England) be returned to India.

The true criminals are the Malaysian MPs, also appropriate Ministerial portfolio members of cabinet, (of all races and faiths) who refuse to give or address or acknowledge :

That has led to feelings of disenfranchisement that have led to emotional distress and social persecution of those politically aware as well as political activists in Malaysia who should be compensated for any suffering they were made to endure during the entire period of the ILLEGAL (after 1976 at any rate) Special Privileges. Could the UN, Human Rights Council (which Malaysia is unsuitably a member of) and also Sunnite Islam’s highest authority (on the issue of Asabiya) please arbitrate and order that the obviously ILLEGAL and APARTHEID Special Privileges be ended immediately as well?

BN VIEWPOINT THERE is so much news of an impending water problem in the Klang Valley that it got me worried. I am not sure if it will be due to less rain, more development or politics — or all of the above.

In the Klang Valley the threat of water shortage began in 2008 when the Pakatan Rakyat government decided to take on the water companies, alleging they were inefficient and were getting sweetheart deals from the federal and previous state governments.

While the current state government is not responsible for higher water consumption, it nevertheless can be taking us to a water crisis in a hand basket.

The decision by the Selangor government to give free water soon after getting sworn into office in 2008 was the beginning of the politicising of water, just as some would politicise religion or education.

The desire of Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim to impress the people of Selangor, and score political points, too, with benevolence is understandable. What better way to do so than with free water.

Khalid often claims that the free water does not see an increase in usage. That may be true, but he misses the point, entirely.

Water is a finite and valuable resource. Even if we can afford to give it away for free, we must not, since it will lessen its value to some people. Furthermore, it costs money to treat and make water potable, and people must know so.

An irony in the Selangor free water initiative is that many of those living in low-cost flats, for example, do not benefit from it, while those who can afford homes, do.

The standoff with the water companies and the Federal Government has a populist ring to it and would of course be politically rewarding. Selangor also put on hold several water-related projects on the premise of protecting the state from unfair deals.

It has been four years of relative inactivity, water-wise. At the same time the Klang Valley has expanded by dramatic proportions. Puchong, for instance, has turned into a major residential and commercial area, rivalling Subang Jaya, which is also expanding. Everywhere, new residential, commercial and industrial developments have, and are taking place.

As a result, the carrying capacity of the greater Klang Valley, with a population some estimate to be close to eight million, that is the heartbeat of the nation, is being stretched.

For water especially, this can already be felt by long-time residents who are experiencing lower water pressure these days. Some reports suggest if the margin of reserve is as thin as it is now, and if drought were to hit us, then we would be in trouble. The massive water shortage of the late 1990s is also fresh in our minds.

Khalid and his supporters on the other hand claim that there is no such thing as a water problem in Selangor and that the scaremongering is the work of political opponents. The claim that the Klang Valley would have a water crisis by 2014 is also a cry wolf.

Regardless, logic has it that if demand keeps increasing and supply were to remain the same, at some point, we would be in trouble.

At the moment I do not really care who is right or wrong. The state’s steadfastness over the issue is no longer admirable, but is verging on foolhardiness.

Stop politicising water. Klang Valley residents should not have to pay for political grandstanding, by anyone. This high-stake game of chicken, waiting for who will blink first is getting close to ridiculous — especially with the prospect of dry taps for millions of people.

– New Straits Times

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Knowing what rubbish Malaysia can degenerate into, there can be no harm in buying a week or few worth of water and food supplies for future use. That way water ‘threats’ won’t be effective in swaying votes. And don’t use plastic bottles or tanks as your ‘private reservoir’ – plastic sloughs off into the water. If anyone in Dewan has half a mind to riot to cause a lockdown or ‘Emergency’, the citizens will be ready to hold out until the ASEAN or NATO Peacekeepers get here.

On a side note incidentally, for all the farcical harm Mahathir Mohammed has caused Malaysia via Vehicular AP and Toll Both System, stolen lives and lands from Orang Asli indigenous peoples, racism against the Indians and Chinese, how could the UN even give that nepotistic old dictator (who bailed out childrens’ shipping failures) an award – Rafik Hariri UN-Habitat Memorial award, for ‘accomplishments in areas that include leadership (dictatorship is not leadership); statesmanship and good governance (Ops Lallang and Judicial Crisis are massivce failures that UN can hardly ignore); construction and reconstructions of settlements and communities (destructionof Orang Asli habitats – alienations of OrangAsli lands and forced resettlement without choice is NOT construction) ; and human resource development (breeding cronyism and corruption – ask ANY Malaysia EVEN the cynical UMNO party the old creep Mahathir is from – for any idea on how Malaysia feels about Mahathir . . . .’ SOCIAL development?

UN whats wrong with you? I propose that the entire awards committee or vetting panel for the Rafik Hariri UN-Habitat Memorial award BE SACKED, and all others ‘awards vetters’ be audited for potential BRIBERY and corruption. UN is fast becoming redundant when awards can be given to the most criminal of people who did the exact opposite of what the worst most unstatesmen like 3rd world cults of personality for awards like the above. One even begins to wonder if Rafik Hariri was another criminal to begin with now! NAM and BRICS or ASEAN or UNASUR will indeed have to play UN’s role in ‘counter-vetting’ now. Lets see what the above non-UN organisations say about the award to determine what the above non-UN organisations are worth. Perhaps USA would like to comment? After all UN HQ is currently in the USA, and if USA concur with the Rafik Hariri UN-Habitat Memorial award being correctly awarded to one of the worst people in ASEAN, then USA is as bad as the person disgracefully awarded . . . just shocking . . .

MORE than three decades ago, I sat in the public gallery at the magistrate’s court as a pregnant woman was brought in to the dock with her hands cuffed behind her back. The interpreter read the charge to her and asked: Mengaku salah atau tidak?

“She pleads guilty, your honour,” the interpreter said and asked her if she had anything to say in mitigation. “Saya ambil susu itu untuk anak saya.” (I took the milk for my child.) For shoplifting a tin of powdered milk and some other items, she was sent to the slammer for six months.

Two days later, before another magistrate, a 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to committing criminal breach of trust of RM20,000 belonging to his employer. After pleading guilty, his counsel stood up and mitigated, playing up his client’s good values and how his client ended up in wrong company and was forced to steal from his employer. He was bound over on a good behaviour bond.

In the month that followed, my then colleague Au Foong Yee, who was covering the PJ courts reported about a man who caused injury to a victim while committing robbery. He was bound over but the minor report did not escape the eyes of Justice N. H. Chan who was a sitting High Court judge. He called up the case for review and imposed a custodial sentence.

In the years that followed, I continued to read about the rich and famous getting away with slaps on their wrists but yet could do nothing, especially cases involving white collar crimes. These two incidents, though, left me pondering over what I perceived as unfair and unequal sentences. On more than one occasion, I had used the pregnant woman’s sentence in this column. Very much later, in the university library in England, I came across a publication called Sentencing Guidelines.

The foreword was compelling reading. Sentencing, it says, is a complex and difficult exercise. It can never be a rigid, mechanistic or scientific process. Consistency of approach by sentencers is essential to maintain public confidence. But perfect consistency in outcome is impossible to achieve because of the infinite variety of circumstances with which, even in relation to one kind of offence, the courts are presented.

“In choosing a fair and just sentence in a particular case, judges and magistrates, within the parameters established by Parliament, must have regard to the gravity of the offence, its impact on the victim, the circumstances of the offender and the wider public interest. In relation to all these matters they must exercise judgment and discretion,” wrote Lord Justice Rose, vice-president, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) and the deputy chairman, Sentencing Guidelines Council.

That was seven years ago and sentencing is still a fascination and court reports are closely followed. Last week, there was cause to have reason to be happy because a seldom-heard-of custodial sentence was imposed by the Court of Appeal for a white collar crime.

Even the Securities Commission called it a landmark decision as a former Fountain View Development Bhd company director, Datuk Chin Chan Leong, was sent to prison to serve a 12-month jail sentence for a share manipulation offence in Bursa Malaysia committed between 2003 and 2004.

Chin, who pleaded guilty to shares manipulation two years ago, was initially given a one-day jail sentence and RM1.3 million fine for the offence. A three-member Appeals Court panel enhanced (Chin’s) custodial sentence to 12 months’ jail after ruling that the one-day jail imposed by the sessions court did not reflect the seriousness of the offence.

We are often reminded that laws are sets of moral codes which have been put on paper for ease of enforcement. Hence, those who commit crimes against fellow citizens, must be appropriately punished. So, can we expect a set of guidelines for magistrates and judges to use?

R. Nadeswaran is editor (special and investigative reporting) at theSun and can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesundaily.com

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Try the one in the ‘Gambier Threat’ where the laws are not amended and fines imposed on everyone FOR offenses committed on their own private property. the amount of suffering created and fines imposed far outstrips 1 can of powdered milk. At the police level after reporting, a simple talk with the/a local Ombudsman and a gifting of another can of milk by the local list of billionaires or millionaires (in turn so that the pain will be shared – one can of milk is nothing to too many of us) should be where this ends. Not wasting more resources and then allowing the prison contractor system to profit AGAIN.

The court magistrate or who knows even the arresting officer should be offended enough to dismiss the case instantly, (after gifting the woman money for milk? Who will take care of the woman’s child?) and not even waste the taxpayer’s time and funds much less punish the woman at 1000s of times the cost to taxpayers for 1 can of milk – inquitable and wasteful hence unjust. Where are the days when the local big shot or state apparatus would just distribute milk so that people who do need to steal like this won’t have to and just turn up at the ‘food stamp centre’ every month instead? The planet’s English based modern legal and punishments system is the most inefficient system in nature and any civilisation in this universe. We civilised persons aware, should be ashamed at the greed and selfishness plutocrats and the punitive nature of judgements which burden society and taxpayer. Magnanimity and wasteful lack of creative treatment of problems typifies Malaysians.

Bukit Koman a small village situated in the district of Raub, Pahang became famous over a hundred years ago because of its godl mine. There are about 400 households and a population of about 3,000. Life was peaceful and serene until early August, 2006 when the issue of “Cyanide” brought fear and anxiety.

August 21st, last year, the London listed company known as Peninsular Gold Limited wholly own subsidiary, Australian Gold Mining Sdn. Bhd., has obtained the written approval from the Mineral and Geosains of Pahang to mine gold using Cyanide at the vicinity of the gold mining site in Bukit Koman without the knowledge of the villagers. It is known that they have built up the infracture for gold mining already.

Cyanide (CN) is the most toxic chemical, that can stop human cells from consuming exygen. Anyone who inhales concentrated Hydrogen Cyanide Gas ould drop dead instantly. In using Cyanide to extract gold, the yield is high as 97% which made the venture very attractive. Since 1960, the use of Cyanide in gold mining becama very common.

In october 1st 2006, the Gold Mining Company disclosed the approval letter for Cyanide gold mining form the State Government to the Bukit koman Committee members over lunch in one of the Raub Restaurant. They claimed that it is safe and the health of the villages will not be affected. After the Bukit Koman Committee members broke the news to the villagers, some went online to find out more about Cyanide. It is confirmed that the Cyanide is a deadly chemical. The villagers decided to from a committee to protect themselves. They seek the assistance of “Sahabat Alam Malaysia” (SAM) and with its help, an Anti-Cyanide Committee was formed. An all residents Anti-Cyanide compaign were mobilized.

As Bukit Koman New Village is situated just right at the side of the gold mine, the villages are very unhappy that the Pahang Mine And Geology Department has surreptitiously approved the use of Cyanide in gold mining without deu considerations.

Our Malaysia Government and Environmental Minister has always stressed the importance of relocating the small, medium and big industries with either smoke or non-smoke to be at least 5 km away from town area and all the environmental wastes must be treated very carefully. All the villagers, young and old alike are frightened and anxious and angry at the total disregard to their health and well being.

The nearest house, No. 74-A in Bukit Koman is only two meters away from the mining site and most of the houses in the village are only separated by a village road.

Question being asked, how and why did The Pahang Mine and Geology Department able to grant and approve the use of Cyanide in the mining of gold here when there are houses and small industries (Mee, Tau Foo, Groundnuts) so close to the mine.

There is a river flowing through the mining site. If the river overflows during floods, the water will seep into the gold mining infrastructure and can lead to Cyanide leadage and resulting in disastrous conssequences.

This has already happened in advanced and developed countries that used Cyanide to extract gold. Should that happen here, not only Bukit Koman villagers are danger but also the whole Raub population as well.

River pollution will definetely lead to “The Raub Oil Mill” and Oil Palm plantations by the Koman River. The mill uses the water for the manufacturing of Palm Oil products. These products are meant for markets both locals and overseas.

Polluted water will definitely lead to Lipis District also because the water flows to Sungai Dong and there on to Sungai Lipis and on and on.

A resident by the name of Gan Chew Yen, presently doing her Master Degree in Chemistry, pointed out that when Cyanide solution is slightly Acidic, it can turn to Cyanide Gas which is extreamely toxic and when Cyanide solution is Alkaline, the Cyanide will not break down. So either in the air or water, this chemical is extremely toxic to the environment.

Robert Moran, a Geo-Chemical expert, has found Cyanide contaminated sediments at a Cobalt-Nickel mine in Missouri that contained many milligrams per kilogram of total Cyanide more than 25 years after all processing had ceased. Samples of bricks, concrete palster and mortar from buildings at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps collected 45 years after all use of Cyanide ceased still showed detectable concentrations of Cyanide, presumably as Iron Cyanides.

History of accidents did happen; Cyanide and heavy metal leaks from the Summitville gold mine killed all aquatic life along a 27 kilometer stretch of the Alamosa River in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. By the time the fold mine was shut down in December 1992, the total clean-up costs have exceeded US$150 million.

In North-Western state of Montana, November 3, 1998, banned the use of Cyanide to extract gold. After years of suffering and dozens toxic leaks from the local mines, the indigenous assiniboine and Gros Ventre peoples had to battle for years in court to force Pegasus, a Canadian gold mining company, to clean-up Cyanide Waste on the Fort Belknap reservation in the Little Rocky Mountains of Montana. Although the community won the lawsuit in 1996, the company declared bankruptcy the following year thwarting clean-up efforts.

The community of Bergama, Turkey, was the first to win a legal ban on Cyanide. In May, 1997, the highest Turkish administrative court overturned approval given by the Department of Environment for the proposed Eurogold project after a rally by 10,000 local poeple with 1,000 tractors occupied the mine site. The judgement was based on the Turkish Constitution and its guarantee of a healthy and intact environment. The court found that the Cyanide based mining technology was at odds with these constitutional rights.

There were “seven wells” left behind by the Raub Australian Gold Mining company when they mined gold underground many years ago. The Australian started mining gold in Raub and Bukit Koman since 1898 to 1963. These seven wells are situated along a straight line from “Raub Well” near the present Chung Ching Secondary School in Raub to the “Malacca Well” in Bukit Koman at the present gold mining area. The depths of these wells range from 600 ft. to 1,200 ft. underground. These wells are accessible by underground tunnels, which included the three wells now under the waste mining lake (tailings).

If the waste tailings and water containing Cyanide seeps into ground and into the waste mining lake, the whole of Raub District will be Cyanide contaminated by way of the underground water, interconnected by these tunnels.

Pollution would not only have a serious repervussion on the 3,000 villages of Bukit Koman but the whole population of Raub District.

The villagers have been very sincere in asking The Pahang State Government, Parliment and State Assemblyman to consider their humble request and look into their plight. It is the villagers hope that the “Letter of Authority To Mine” No. Phg. 14/2006 dated 21/8/2006 using Cyanide / Carbon In-Leach by the Mineral and Geosains of Pahang, on the study that was based some 10 years ago be revoked from the gold mining company. Last but not least we would like the Government of the day to treat this matter with urgency and not to one gold mining company that overrides the population of Raub.
Posted by Choong Siew onn at Monday, June 16, 2008
1 comment:

Jiaxin said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
July 18, 2009 7:37 PM

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Typical. 1 comment and DAP sees fit to remove. Malaysia Chronicle a pro-DAP outfit also does the same, did that so much I stopped posting more or less there. This being the MP’s site, doesn’t surprise at all. Would Raub citizens want to field an independent candidate who will shut all gold mines immediately? Consider one of those retirees who will also stand for :

The local MP is probably on the take from RAGM and pretending to be sending samples and what not. A really decisive MP would have shut down the whole area by declaring the whole constituency ‘Agriculture and Residential only’. Would the voters in Raub want to vote for a candidate that would be able to not be tempted by gold or buyoffs and just shut every offending mine down as is the MP’s power and right to represent the locals rather than collude against the locals? Independent candidates and 3rd Forcers, activists, want to write 1 law (which is more than that CM of Penang character did) for the entire 1st term stint which abolishes use of cyanide or any dangerous chemical ENTIRELY in all gold mining operations at least? Voters should know who has the mind to do that . . .

ARTICLE 13

‘Umno does not own BN’ – Wednesday, 04 July 2012 Super Admin

A MIC leader says the the days of the ‘Big Brother’ syndrome is over and component parties should not quit BN if it disagreed with Umno.

(FMT) – Barisan Nasional is made up of various partners founded on the principle of power sharing and no party can claim to be the sole proprietor of the coalition, said a MIC leader.

Therefore, S Vell Paari stressed that if Umno crossed the line then the other parties should come together to discuss the matter and find a solution.

In the past, he said Umno leaders had called for the withdrawal of component parties from BN whenever it was deemed that the line was not toed.

“So why is it that whenever a controversial issue arises concerning Umno it is the component parties which threaten to quit BN? This should not be the case.

“No one party has a monopoly in BN and decisions are based on consensus. Gone are the days of the ‘Big Brother’ syndrome,” he told FMT.

The MIC central working committee member also disagreed with the description of Umno being the backbone of BN, saying that the title belonged to the people.

The son of former MIC president S Samy Vellu was responding to the warning from MCA’s Young Professionals Bureau head Chua Tee Yong.

Tee Yong, the son of MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, said his party would quit BN if Umno attempted to implement the Islamic hudud law.

He was reacting to Johor Umno state assemblyman Ayub Rahmat who suggested that hudud be implemented in the state to cover all races.

Ayub had put MCA in a spot as the hudud issue had been one of the Chinese-based party’s most potent weapon against its Chinese-predominated rival DAP over the latter’s association with the Islamic PAS.

Time to be more aggressive

Meanwhile, Vell Paari was confident that Umno would not push for the implementation of hudud but stated that the controversy necessitated certain points to be made clear.

He said MIC and MCA’s problem with Umno in the past was that its previous leaderships refused to acknowledge or even compromise with the two parties.

This, he noted, led to the inequality between the races, which in turn bred the resentment of the Chinese and Indian communities towards BN.

“I am not against the development of the majority but at the same time, the minorities should not have been left out in terms of education, employment and so forth,” he said.

However, Vell Paari said the situation was different now under the stewardship of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

“He is a prime minister who is willing to listen and he even had the courage to apologise for the coalition’s past mistake. Whatever said and done, I respect the man for that,” he said.

On the same note, Vell Paari said MIC and MCA must be more aggressive in fighting for the rights of the communities which the parties represented.

“The hard and cold fact is that our respective communities chose to turn their backs on us because we were seen as toothless tigers. And true enough, we were bullied into a corner.

“We must make a stand to show that we are not second or third fiddle in BN and our leaders are not there to attend functions and savour the kuih alone,” he said.

There is nothing BN can offer the Rakyat now, and all BN MPs are millionaires and billionaires already. Who needs this sort of MPs or inequality? Use that mandate to grant the above 3 items and stop expecting the citizens to vote for BN! Why should anyone vote for a coalition that does not use the mandate they already have to end apartheid?

In declaring his fidelity and denying his wife assaulted him or the other woman, the DAP leader slips in an attack against the MCA president, who then retaliates.

In the latest chapter of the tussle between DAP and MCA, Lim Guan Eng has been accused of sharing an intimate relationship with a former staff and thus earning the wrath of his wife. His enraged wife Kota Laksamana (Malacca) assemblywoman Betty Chew, alluded MCA, had then assaulted both Lim and the woman, who had since been transferred. In a media statement this afternoon, the DAP secretary-general denied the allegation that his wife had beaten him or the woman.

Launching a vitriolic salvo against his opponents, Lim, who denied indulging in an extra-marital affair, also seized the opportunity to revisit MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s scandalous past.

He dared Malacca MCA chairman Gan Tian Loo, who raised the matter in the state assembly on Monday, to repeat his claim outside the House without hiding behind the cloak of immunity.

Lim said this would allow his wife and him to drag Gan to court and prove that he (Lim) was not like the MCA president.

“DAP never indulges in gutter politics,” he pointed out.

“DAP never abused parliamentary privilege and proceedings to attack the MCA president when he was caught in a video tape having an extra-marital affair with another woman,” he added.

Lim regretted that while DAP chose to exercise restraint, MCA was willing to stoop low.

Taking another swipe at the MCA president, the Penang chief minister said he would not ask Chua to direct Gan to repeat his allegation outside the House since the former had no moral authority to do so given his own scandal.

Instead, he wanted Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to issue the order.

Training his guns on Gan, Lim said if the latter failed to repeat his allegation, it would prove that he was a coward who was unfit to be a leader.

“Worse, he will show himself unworthy to be a husband and father… who can make false allegations against another to destroy not just his political career but also the family’s happiness.

“What kind of leader is Gan when he is willing to be used as a lackey of Umno to play such gutter politics?” he asked.

Chua: I have courage, you don’t

Retaliating, the MCA president agreed that Lim was not like him as there was a stark difference between the two, which was courage.

“I have the courage to be responsible and bear the consequences [for my actions],” he said in a media statement.

Chua asked if Lim would be brave enough to admit his mistake, apologise and resign from his posts as he did.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The Rakyat does not care who sleeps with who in DAP and MCA or if DAP and MCA has orgies every weekend with their political interns. Thats for the wife or husband to sue. The Rakyat only cares about having :

;and that TERM LIMITS are respected, that democracy and equality is upheld. Morality is NOT the same as good policy writing or conscientious amendments to bad laws or ending apartheid. Have orgies all you want DAP and MCA, but not use a mandate to end apartheid or use those legislative powers to amend laws, and the Rakyat will have no further use for any political party, BOTH Lim Guan Eng and Chua Soi Lek will be useless to the voter if they talk about their sex lives instead of amending laws and ending apartheid. 2 terms, AND equality, then GTFO of Dewan for the other citizens to participate in bettering the nation instead of talking about whos sleeping with who. Focus on the issue and use those 2 term limited powers!

ARTICLE 16

To understand today you need to know yesterday – Wednesday, 04 July 2012 Super Admin – by John Roberts, WSWS.ORG

Many of you were not in the scene back in 1997/1998 when Malaysia was hit by a financial crisis and Anwar Ibrahim made his move to oust Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It was a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted and how Dr Mahathir turned a losing hand into a winning hand. It may be time to revisit what happened 14-15 years ago considering that many of these players are now re-emerging as the power-brokers for the coming general election.

Malaysian economic regulatory authorities—the Securities Commission and the central bank, Bank Negara—have initiated an extensive crackdown in the corporate sector in the name of ending corrupt practices. However, questions have been raised by opposition figures and in financial circles about the selective, political nature of the measures that have targeted businessmen connected to opponents of the Malaysian government.

On August 12, the Malaysia’s Sun newspaper reported that the Securities Commission had handed the Immigration Department a list of 70 names of businessmen and their senior advisors to prevent them from leaving Malaysia. The Securities Commission admitted taking the action, claiming only that the number was lower.

Among those already arrested and facing charges are some of the most prominent figures in the country’s corporate sector. On April 30, Ismail Zakariah, a former chief executive of the Sime Bank, a major Malaysian bank, was charged with breaking lending guidelines under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act by lending $M175 million ($US46 million) against the instructions of the bank’s board.

On July 24, KFC managing director Ishak Ismail and Abrar Corporation executive chairman Wan Hasni Wan Sulaiman were charged with offences under the Securities Act. The KFC director, who became a major corporate figure after gaining control of Idris Hydraulic in 1991, is charged with providing false information in 1996 when submitting a plan for Securities Commission approval. Wan Hasni Wan Sulaiman has been charged over allegedly using a plan to cheat investors in 1997.

On August 4, Datuk Tony Thiah Thee Kian, executive of TA Securities, the country’s largest retail brokerage firm, and his sister-in-law, Kimmy Khoo Poh Kim, the company secretary, were charged with aiding the political and business figure John Soh Chee Wen in defrauding the now defunct Omega Securities of $M424.9 million. If convicted Tiah and Khoo could face jail sentences of up to 10 years and fines of up to $M1million. The authorities have initiated an international manhunt for Soh.

Opposition figures have accused Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of directing the crackdown against businessmen connected to the deposed and jailed former deputy prime minister and financial minister Anwar Ibrahim. Similar concerns have been voiced by bankers and businessmen quoted in Hong Kong and Singapore-based newspapers.

Members of Parti Keadilan Nasional (National Justice Party), established this year by Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah, have denounced the measures saying they are aimed at smearing and intimidating opposition supporters in the lead-up to the national elections. One of the government’s aims, they say, is to cut off funds for opposition parties.

The poll is due to be held by the middle of next year, but there is widespread speculation in the press that Mahathir will call an early election.

The government claims the crackdown is not politically motivated but has been initiated by the Securities Commission in response to calls from foreign investors, fund managers, business and the media for moves against corrupt business practices. Mahathir said the regulating authorities were acting independently of the government. Securities Commission chairman Ali Abdul Kadir commented: “We are not concentrating on any particular sector, party, of friends of anybody.”

Mahathir’s assertions appear to be rather hollow, as a number of those facing charges are well known for their connections to Anwar.

For 10 years until 1991, Datuk Ishak Ismail was secretary of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) division of Permatang Pauh—Anwar’s constituency in Penang. After 1991 he remained a committee member. His political closeness to Anwar is apparent from an interview in which he said Anwar “is my mentor and I learnt a lot from him. I felt privileged to serve under him in his division. I have great respect for him. He is a leader of high integrity.”

Wan Hasni Wan Sulaiman was also a strong Anwar supporter. He was deputy chief of the UMNO young organisation in Kelantan until Anwar was deposed in last September. In October, he was expelled from UMNO for “anti-UMNO activities” as part of a purge of 300 to 400 Anwar supporters.

Ismail Zakaria was known to be close to both Mahathir and Anwar when the latter was Finance Minister. He was being considered as a future governor of the Bank Negara.

Furthermore, the roundup of Anwar supporters comes in the aftermath of fresh allegations by the jailed Anwar of corrupt practices by close supporters of Mahathir. In the course of July, he lodged police reports accompanied by supporting documents alleging that:

* Mahathir, in collaboration with the attorney-general’s chambers, blocked the criminal prosecution of international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz over charges that she had favoured her son-in-law in an allocation of shares.

* Mahathir, and not managing director Eric Chia, was largely responsible for $M3 billion in losses at the state-owned steel corporation Perwaja.

* Present Finance Minister and business tycoon Daim Zainuddin received money and shares from three prominent businessmen — Halim Saad, controlling shareholder of the giant Renong corporation; Tajudin Ramli, Malaysian Airlines chairman and principal shareholder; and Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah, chairman of the property group Land & General. Daim is one of Mahathir’s closest political associates.

While Anwar’s allegations have received little publicity and are unlikely to be pursued by the police, they appear to have rattled the Mahathir government. “The Anwar reports have put the government back on the defensive. They seem to be in a bind on how to react,” Jomo Sundaram, an economics professor, commented.

The crackdown by the Securities Commission is part of Mahathir’s answer as he considers whether to call an early election. The UMNO general assembly, held from June 18 to 20, was used by the party leadership as a virtual election rally. Claiming that the government’s regulatory policies were working, Mahathir and Daim branded the IMF’s policies as moves by the “ethnic Europeans” to recolonise Malaysia, and Anwar and his supporters as the lackeys of foreign capital.

The government has also put Anwar on trial for a second time, on charges of sodomy. He is already serving a six-year sentence on corruption charges. The trial has proceeded despite evidence that witness statements against Anwar were coerced by the police. The police have just admitted this week that they rewrote the charges when it was discovered that the apartment block in which the offenses were supposed to have taken place had not even been built at the time.

As well as the publicity surrounding the trial, Mahathir is counting on an improved economy to assist him winning an early election. But the so-called recovery in Malaysia has largely been fueled by government spending and is rather shaky. There has been little foreign investment in the country. Export growth in April and increased foreign reserves occurred against the backdrop of an economic contraction of 7.5 percent last year. Banks have refused to increase lending by the 8 percent demanded by the government.

Anwar’s expulsion last year and his subsequent jailing were not simply the product of a personal falling-out between the prime minister and his former deputy, but reflected deep rifts in ruling circles in the wake of the Asian economic crisis. Anwar demanded that the UMNO-led government respond by adopting the economic policies required by the IMF, a process he had begun as finance minister. He was seeking to further open up the economy to foreign investment and maintained a high interest rate regime, which was threatening to bring down major Malaysian corporations, including some closely allied to Mahathir and Daim.

Last September Mahathir responded by sacking the Bank Negara head and implemented a series of capital and currency controls including the suspension of offshore trading of the Malaysian ringgit, a fixed exchange rate and restrictions on the repatriation of profits by foreigners in share trading. When Anwar refused to accept the changes and refused to resign, Mahathir sacked and then expelled him from UMNO. After Anwar launched a nationwide campaign calling for Mahathir’s removal, he was arrested under the Internal Security Act and then finally changed with corruption and sexual misconduct.

The bitter dispute first surfaced in the June 1998 at the general assembly of UMNO. Anwar tried to appeal to the resentment of smaller Malay business interests who were going to the wall, while those close to UMNO were being bailed out by government money. He and his supporters called for the government to “cleanse society of collusion, corruption and nepotism”.

Mahathir responded at the time by producing a list of business interests connected to Anwar, who had benefited from state largesse. The message was clear: pursue this anti-corruption campaign and you will end up being investigated for financial malpractice. A little over a year later, the Mahathir government seems to be carrying out the threat.

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Re-emerging RPK says? What a joke. 2 terms over? A plutocrat from being in politics? NO RE-EMERGENCE then. GTFO of Dewan you term limitless nepotists plutocrats! Will the independent candidates step forward and remove al;l these -re-emergers? The last thing we need is pre-1997 politicians taking the stand AGAIN. 1990s where the MOST UMNO dominated, least transparent era of nepotist Mahathir and Kris waving Home Ministers . . . RPK really has lost his mind. How could RPK fette deadwood from a dead era who are so wealthy and term limitless over young Malaysians who are not complicit on not challenging the apartheid system in Malaysia, but tacit approval and n ot challenging the apartheid special privileges which are also anathema in Islam?

Re-emerging politicians? No thanks. The nasi lemak or kuih seller (who does not believe in apartheid), sweeper or petty trader at the roadside has a better chance than any billionaire or even millionaire plutocrat much less the term limitless nepotist MPs trying to become plutocrats by stealing from the other citizens the rights to award contracts for the better of the country – NOT themselves to become plutocrats with. We’d rather such politicians NEVER re-emerge and be crushed by society (not voting them or keeping 2 term limits in place by dropping candidates after 2 terms) for the harm they have done with their bodeking and corrupt or racist behaviour, floundering on ending apartheid.

(The Malaysian Insider) – Already facing possible expulsion, Tamrin Ghafar, the son of former deputy prime minister and Umno strongman Tun Ghafar Baba, has again criticised the party’s leadership for straying from its “original struggle”.

The former Bukit Berendam MP told The Malaysian Insider last night that, under Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership, Umno has been trampling on the rights of Malaysians instead of defending them.

“Umno has strayed from the original struggle of its forefathers, who had prioritised the people more.

He expressed disappointment that, since Najib succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009, both the directions of Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno have changed drastically.

Tamrin, who has recently been active on Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) political stage, confirmed he had received a show-cause letter from Umno’s disciplinary committee on June 26 demanding he explain his criticisms against Najib’s leadership.

He has declined to reply, however, saying he would prefer to meet with the committee to explain his reasons “face to face”.

“I’ve been given 14 days to respond. But I refuse to do so in writing. Instead, I am seeking to meet with the committee to explain my actions to them personally,” he said, despite acknowledging that this may result in his sacking.

When asked of his plans to join other parties should he be sacked, Tamrin said he was yet to make a decision.

“Let’s wait for the committee’s decision first. I have not thought about joining other parties yet,” he added.

Tamrin first made an appearance in an opposition-backed event during a pre-Bersih 3.0 rally held in April at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru here.

Since then, the leader has been an active participant of PR events, and has even written to Najib to air his views on how Umno could recapture public support.

Tamrin’s father, Ghafar, had been deputy prime minister during the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration and had served under four prime ministers, including Tun Abdul Razak, who is Najib’s father.

The late Ghafar had also been the Malacca chief minister for some eight years from 1959 to 1967 although he had originally declined the post offered to him by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Here’s one of those very rare UMNO guys with the ethical or reform mindset of Semangat 46. Shahrir Samad (indepnendant minded enough to throw away UMNO’s style of politics, but formerly indulged in at least 1 or 2 corrupt acts), Tengku Razaleigh (glacial action on apartheid and crony politics in the past, talking about lots of embroyonic stuff but nothing concrete – Kuli is not exactly young and have been term limitless, how about doing something for this term or GTFO of Dewan for a more pro-active Tunku!) and Tamrin Ghafar (a man can turn down a CM’s post is exceptional indeed – deserves a Tunship but since Tamrin is too proud to lobby Tamrin probably got nothing . . . , Ghafar is a true STATESMAN not a mere political animal clinging to power) could well form the core of a new BN, with the likes of reform minded but (thus far) unable to speak up on APARTHEID types like Ong Tee Keat.

The nation of Malaysia has reached the crossroads after years of suffering much anguish and pain in the hands of being ruled by Barisan Nasional. The extent of anguish and pain that Malaysians have suffered in the hands of BN cannot be fully quantified or assessed as yet.

However, what is certain is the way and manner of governing Malaysia since the days of the establishment of the Mahathir regime which has definitely witnessed a major blow and setback for democracy and race relations.

The real “pengkhianat Bangsa Melayu”?

It is an undeniable fact that while Mahathir governed Malaysia with impunity, he was also guilty of being a racist and a Malay chauvinist.

By often calling upon and using the racial card, he caused gullible and unsuspecting Malays and other bumiputras to believe that their common enemy is the non-bumiputras especially the Chinese and Indians.

But the blow to his racial ploy was only apparent with the return of globalisation to the fore.

When the world decided to go global, Mahathir’s racial ploys backfired and blew up in his face. The Malays were found not to have the competitive edge in being able to compete in a globalised environment as they were rendered weak by being fully dependent on the BN government for assistance and aid.

By causing Malays and bumiputras to become soft in their belly, an underclass society actually, it is really Mahathir Mohammad who is truly the “pengkhianat Bangsa Melayu” (the traitor to the Malays), and not Anwar Ibrahim, which Perkasa should take note.

Played his cards badly

Many Malays after this went into a dither, upon globalisation taking place, and if they are managing today, it is because of the continued and able support being given by non-bumiputras to them.

In reality, the Chinese and the Indians are pragmatic and wise in seeing that if the Malays and bumiputras become unbalanced economically there will be chaos in the country.

Mahathir however played his cards very badly. He instilled in Malays and bumiputras a fear that the real threat to their well being are the Chinese and Indians who are out to rob them of their share of the economic pie.

This caused race relations to go back to the dark ages with Mahathir behaving more Malay than the Malays themselves in wanting to seemingly safeguard and defend them.

Created a situation where he did not have to answer to anyone

Mahathir went out of his way to dispel any notion that he has links with Indian ancestry in an attempt to be seen as the sole champion and custodian of Malay rights. In doing so, he used the Chinese and Indians as the bogeys to frighten the Malays and bumiputras.

By promoting racism and Malay chauvinism, Mahathir was able to secure the Malay vote bank and win general elections over the years of his rule with commanding victories.

However, the fallout with his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, over the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit because of Mahathir gambling with funds obtained from Bank Negara Malaysia in the currency market spelt the beginning of the end of his so-called legacy.

Mahathir caused Anwar to be the scapegoat to cover for his misdeeds and acts of blatant corruption as he governed Malaysia without having to be answerable or accountable to anyone. He was governing Malaysia as a man above the law.

Cronyism and cronyism

During the tenure of his premiership, Mahathir established a BN-crony network to create the minority elite in this country while most Malays and bumiputras looked forward to a token value of financial progress.

Besides this, he staffed and employed most Malays by absorbing them into the civil service and offering them terms and conditions of service that were second-to-none despite a poor and low productivity rate and output by the civil service.

This was another of his ploys to curry favour with the Malays and to assure himself of their votes. As it stands, the racial composition of the staffing and employment of the overly-bloated civil service in this country is a blatant example and reflection of his acts of racism and chauvinism.

This is why more and more ordinary Malaysians have come to the realisation and recognition that Mahathir is perhaps more to be known as Bapa Rasuah (the father of corruption) than Bapa Pembangunan (the father of development).

A legacy of evil?

Mahathir’s skewering and tinkering with the politics and policies in this country has caused rising anger and resentment against him owing to numerous allegations of atrocities and abuses committed by him and his henchmen in the country.

Only by him and his cronies being brought before an international tribunal of justice can Malaysians be assured that the crimes he committed in this country towards Malaysians can come to the fore without people being fearful of reprisal.

While expecting justice and fair play by a competent court of justice in this country or even establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry into his crimes and misdeeds might not lead to justice being seen to be done, Malaysians must bring him to book in an independent court abroad where his reach and influence is not there.

While Mahathir claims he does not fear death but evil, the evil he has spawned in this country is enough to convince and convict right-thinking Malaysians that his evil legacy is already in tatters for the coming generations to study as facts of history.

Malaysia Chronicle

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At this point of time, someone even asks ‘True of False’ about Malaysia’s worst confirmed dictator? Malaysia Chronicle has turned strawman . . . If not wrongly read, Christopher Fernandez should be ashamed to even attempt manipulative NLP (neurolinguistic programming) against the citizen readers via this article’s title – only the title is an NLP – the content of the article is just fine. Even on the 1 single count of Ops Lallang against Malaysians (not to mention Ops Lallang, Vehicular AP, Toll Concessions, Orang Asli Land Alienations, Crony Capitalism etc..) is Mahathir damned on ‘True False’ basis. Can’t ‘True False’ so obvious an offender! Selling soul to the media by disrespectfully throwing NLP at the public is not a way to earn a living ‘Chris’. Try apartheid and how Mahathir is the only Mamak in Malaysia who is a bumiputra, then know where you stand ‘Chris’ . . .

Will PM Najib impose TERM LIMITS on MPs to remove all the nepotists and oligarchs and plutocrats, putting the RAMAN series of apartheid PM’s to a high end note, exhonerate UMNO and raise Malaysians to a state of equality? Use that mandate or BN is finished and PR might try to destroy BN’s ‘personalities’ after winning (including C4 users . . . ) End the Sin of Asabiya and comply with the UNHCR Articles. End the Apartheid of Bumiputra as a righteous PM might do so . . .

ARTICLE 19

SHOCKING parenting by Dr M: Tells Marina to behave herself and be sensitive to Mukhriz Featured Written by Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle – Friday, 29 June 2012 17:21

Fresh from publicly endorsing his son Mukhriz for the Kedah chief minister’s seat, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad next trained his sights on his daughter – Marina.

Urging the sometimes outspoken Marina to be ‘sensitive’ of how her often liberal behavior could affect her brother’s political chances, the 86-year-old Mahathir revealed for the first time his parenting skills to the nation.

And it is clear, as far as the Mahathir family goes, politics come first.

“I do hope she will realise what she is doing is not good for herself, not good for the government party at least. She should also be sensitive about her brother who is contesting in the election,” Mahathir said during an interview with online television station The Malaysian Observer (MobTV).

He had been asked to comment on Marina, an AIDS/HIV activist and open supporter of the Bersih rallies for clean elections – two issues that Mahathir is openly and vehemently against but which Marina apparently endorses.

Drawing a line

Just a day ago, Mahathir warned that allowing the LGBT community rights would lead to the end of ‘mankind’.

Today, he publicly warned his daughter not to get carried away with her volunteer work and end up fighting for the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender folk.

“She never said she supports this; I hope she doesn’t. She cared for this people but she has to draw a line between them and the idea that being homosexual is okay, or men marrying men is okay,” said Mahathir.

The former PM who ruled Malaysia for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 also let slip he did not like Marina to associate herself with Bersih, the movement for free and fair elections as he believed it had been hijacked by the opposition.

However, Mahathir skirted the issue of whether he supported the principle of clean polls. This is not surprising given that his critics have often accused him of massive gerrymandering and even offering citizenship to foreign workers if they voted to keep his Umno-BN coalition in power.

Typical big-mouth Asian dad?

And in reminding Marina to be ‘sensitive’ for Mukhriz’s sake, Mahathir revealed his own insensitivity not only by putting his daughter’s interests lower than her brother’s, but also by blaring to the public that she had “no ambition”.

“She doesn’t care about what people think. I care about what people think. If not, I won’t get anywhere,” said Mahathir.

“Maybe it’s because she has no ambition so she speaks her mind. I cannot agree with the things she is doing, but nowadays you cannot tell your children ‘please stop this, please stop that’; they have a mind of their own.”

Marina is Mahathir’s eldest child and despite his current obsession in making sure Mukhriz lands the Kedah chief minister’s post, it is well-known that she is his favorite offspring and their father-and-daughter relationship enviably strong.

Nonetheless, it would be interesting to ask Marina what she thinks of her dad’s latest comments – has his thinking become antiquated with age or is he just another Asian dad, cherishing the sons as serious business and the daughters – mere decoration!

Malaysia Chronicle

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

False flag argument intended to ‘suck in’ those who fall for this nepotistic lot. Marina is playing ‘good cop’ for the Iskandar Kutty family. Mahathir Iskandar Kutty Jr plays bad cop. At the end of the day this is ANOTHER family bloc with Marina living comfortably off Mahathir’s corruption begotten wealth while the rest of the country struggles. Family is just that biased and this is why there are ethical concerns about family member infested parliaments – any family should know this and families in politics is just nonsense. Marina wins either way has already benefiteds off the taxpayers’ funds that Mahathir took – AND if the readers read on any headings in this blog about Marina, the readers will find that Marina is a crypto-racist who has withheld commitment of any clear word against apartheid along side cynical though well informed ‘top blogger’ RPK.

ARTICLE 20

No Reason For KLIA2 To Cost RM5 Billion – Friday, 06 July 2012 00:09

KUALA LUMPUR — Suggestions that KLIA2, the new low-cost terminal at Sepang, near here, will cost RM5 billion because of cost overruns appear to be misguided, say sources close to the project.

They said that costs could rise to RM5 billion if certain parties dictated terms to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to build additional facilities not in the current plan.

“As of now, everything is under control and the cost of construction will remain at RM3.9 billion,” said one of the well-placed sources.

On claims that the airport would not be completed by its deadline of April 2013, the sources said that construction was on schedule and it was not a question of whether the airport would be ready on time but whether the operators of low-cost airlines could get their act together by then.

It is understood that certain systems for the check-in counters have yet to be submitted to MAHB although the deadline was June 15 this year.

In addition, there are also questions whether facilities undertaken by other parties (not MAHB) like hotels and office buildings would be ready by the second quarter of next year.

The sources said KLIA2 could have been completed this year if not for last-minute requests by certain quarters which consequently extended the schedule.

They said that the costs had also gone up from the original RM2 billion because of requests for additional facilities.

Originally, KLIA2 was to be only a two-storey high building, but this has been increased to an equivalent of nine storeys for a three-level terminal comprising separate departure, arrival and ground support equipment areas.

This meant that the gross floor area of the terminal building has been increased by 71 per cent to 257,000 sq metres from the original 150,000 sq metres.

The sources said the KLIA2 would be the world’s largest purpose-built low- cost terminal with a capacity to accommodate 45 million passengers annually.

They said it was also being built at the lowest cost per passenger with aerobridges and enhanced passenger convenience.

“With the aerobridges, passengers need not walk on the apron anymore,” they added.

They said although industry standards dictated that 55 boarding gates would be sufficient to handle 30 million pasengers annually, MAHB had accommodated requests to increase the number of boarding gates to 68.

MAHB had also made provisions for a fully automated baggage handling system although there had been earlier requests for a non-fully automated one.

To cater for higher passenger traffic, MAHB had even drew up plans to accommodate the superjumbo Airbus 380 aircraft as well as premium lounges for enhanced passenger comfort.

Under its current construction plan, MAHB had also provided for the construction of four hotels and a public shopping mall next to the terminal.

(Bernama)

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Greedy politicians and proxy middlemen, taking taxpayer monies to fill their pockets. And that terminal will not be of much more use because Malaysia is already not a very interesting place to visit and is also full of apartheid and occasional fundos. So please vote carefully for your MP and drop all the term limitless nepotists, rich businessmen or rich politicians and also fundos and apartheid racists who will continue stealing taxpayer’s money for themselves through crony contractors and use bumiputra apartheid to abuse citizens and control Malays with extreme Islam, oppress non-Malays with.

Lim Guan Eng’s description of MCA Duyong assemblyman Gan Tian Loo as “uneducated” as reported in Chinese dailies yesterday is regretful, as he is a representative of the people and is responsible for making inquiries on issue which need clarification in the state assembly. Obviously, the Penang Chief Minister was caught in a humiliating situation and is now confused and helpless.

DAP’s style has always been to criticise, create lies and to incite the people to be against the ruling party. MCA has never insulted the opposition party leaders by calling them “uneducated”. However, it is interesting the Guan Eng will label elected representatives who pose questions to him during the state assembly as “uneducated.”

DAP will always heavily publicise any events which are favourable to them by they themselves try to prevent others from questioning them and when an issue turns out to be bad for their publicity they will then impose gag orders. DAP constantly finds creative ways to ensure that they look good in the news, but never has MCA labeled them as uneducated.

Therefore, DAP’s double standard behaviour is such that when they bring up issues involving BN they will call it democratic, but when provoked by BN they will refer to us as uneducated.

In DAP’s eyes, MCA is always wrong. But within DAP itself, there have been dissatisfaction. One example is the resignation of Tunku Abdul Aziz, formerly DAP Vice-Chairman, who in a radio interview had said that Guan Eng had attempted to get him to stay with a new job with a RM50,000 salary. Tunku Aziz also claimed that he had found this move insulting and was the main factor as to why he had decided to resign as he is unable to work with Guan Eng anymore.

This so-called ‘uneducated’ person from DAP has now expressed disappointment with DAP, thus proving that MCA members have more restraint while Guan Eng and his fellow DAP comrades are quick to insult their own members who have left.

Guan Eng must be careful and not simply insult the elected representatives of the people who are only seeking the truth. The circumstances surrounding this incident must be clarified before the rumours will stop circulating.

TEE SIEW KIONG is MCA National Organising Secretary

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Uneducated is accepting a CM’s post without quorums that your father ‘gives’ you which rightfully belongs to the people and needs a quorum. Uneducated is accepting APARTHEID without demanding inequality. Uneducated is not keeping campaign promises. 3rd Force leads the way.

ARTICLE 22

Land Survey System Nonsense and Unprofessionalism in Malaysia

More sh1t cake responses for the sh1t eating CMs and the so-called professionals who want to partake of ‘the cake’ (Any ‘hungry’ professionals should insult PERKASA, maybe they will send sh1t cakes . . . ). This government has set such a bad example that the bottom feeders like the above types have a false sense of where they stand, and need to be taken out of the system. Perhaps I’d file a complaint, but will need to install a recording system on the phone (look out for future audio posts here online where first hand rudeness will be on display). Rude and greedy ‘professionals’ need to eat what they spew, and believe me, potty mouthed surveyors do not deserve business but probably would fawn and kiss a$$es of bigger sh1t eaters who expect this sort of ‘bodek’ thing . . . and we all know how fat and corrupted some of these shameless unethical ‘downlines’ can get. 2 tongues and attitudes, one for each wealth set, boycott the worst of the so-called ‘professionals’ . . .

Being a professional body, the ethics behind acceptance of all jobs profitable, or non-profitable (larger jobs have economy of scale but smaller jobs do not) IS professional conduct. Porfessionalism thus demands that service must be provided to all citizens especially for access to something as basic as land survey services – the system does not have recommended timeframes and fee structures based around the land value, so professionals are in fact licensed to profiteer rather than serve the people.

More mentally ill posing as sane behind uncontrolled systems that allow unreasonable fees badges of professionalism will be described today . . . an uncivil Mr. ‘Eat Sh1t K’ (a land surveyor who – speaks ‘officious ‘slick/slimy” and was named after the cuss term . . . probably aligned to our Sh1t Eating CM who knows . . . keep saying that favourite word ‘K’ and maybe someday K too will get sh1tcakes, and without needing to ask for 750K funerals . . . ) who insisted that the system was corrupt, and that Land Surveyors do not serve professionally if your land plot is not large enough. maybe K wanted to eat sh1t on behalf of the real sh1t eaters so threw that corupted mentality dead weight behind the term limiteless nepotists . . .

There must be legal provisions (which appear to be missing in Malaysia’s incomplete laws on registered profesional bodies) to protect and ensure access to such services for small estate holders as if the Land Survey Office does not allow unlicensed surveying and greedy among private Land Surveyors or other professionals are only interested in large jobs, ) is not something that the Rakyat in general is aware of or even needs to or is able or even properly positioned in a suitable socially fetted position (Malaysian value system is skewed so that none with the proper values are fetted somehow) to teach a supposed professional about. Professional bodies should understand the ethics behind this. Consider that when a neutral party person contacts a professional they expect not the face of blind greed, polarized politics but PROFESSIONALISM.

Others (one S.U.A. initialed company) were polite enough to decline outright (again still unprofessional but at least not ‘sh1t eating’ rude, this is not about money but about service) and being part of society and the only people doing such work Land Surveyors need to have laws that require Land Surveyors to charge according to the value of the land (not more than 1-2% at most, much like sales commission – they are merely sureying the land not even selling the land for you . . . ) regardless of the size – THAT would be professionalism – sickening 3rd worlders do not understand, sadly nor does the government which has not placed such requirements (much less understand or think about possibly) of ‘professionals’ to end up with a society favouring only ‘large jobs’ and making small holder’s lives impossible. Anything more than a sales agent’s 1-2% sales fee for survey is excessive. If a piece of land is worth 100K, charging 3K to 10K for demarcation or boundary stone laying is excessive. Timeframes for responses in Malaysia’s land offices btw are 3 mths, timeframes for demarcation and stone laying should be no more than 2 weeks to be reasonable, but in Malaysia we have cases going back 20 years . . . truly 3rd world.

One must be aware that in the land survey industry there are professionals that are propping up the apartheid system, intent on frustratiung the public at large with their ill inclined natures while hiding behind a professional’s status. Let’s put the whole issue this way, Professionals get the bulk of the cash from big player owners and by means of service and even at a loss provide the small owners the same service on cognizance that the profits from high paying large owners will outweigh the losses from (probably less cost effective, may not even be losses here) small owners overall. A professional does not pick and choose, a professional does ALL jobs and that is the basis for ‘professionalism’. Watch those little graduates who grow into the above nuisances that choke up society, identify the same and do not allow them to profit off the voters!

More ‘Malaysiana’, courtesy this time of the so-called ‘professionals’ among Malaysian Land Surveyors, no thanks to a Land Survey Office that does not survey so that the ‘professionals’ can abuse citizens with extreme fees and a lack of seperation of online and real life scenarios and behaviours . . . we learn more everyday, and again Malaysians and Malaysia does not fail to disappoint.

Marzouki at Oasis: Christians, Muslims, Jews and atheists, all brothers in Tunisia – by Bernardo Cervellera – 06/20/2012 14:50
The Tunisian president reiterates the point that freedom of conscience is the basis of the Jasmine Revolution in his country. This means the right to change religion or have none at all. The transition is difficult in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Arabian Peninsula and Morocco. In such places, conversion and baptism are prevented by fear of what consequences they might entail. However, the Arab revolution has changed people’s mindset, carving greater space for the individual rather than the ‘Ummah’. The West has failed to understand what is taking place.

Tunis (AsiaNews) – The “destiny” of the Arab Tunisian revolution is to welcome “Muslims, Christians, Jews and atheists” as “brothers”, everyone with full citizenship. This is the pledge Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki made at the meeting of the Scientific Committee of Oasis currently underway in the Tunisian capital. Marzouki, who was himself a prisoner and an exile because of his activism in the field of human rights, returned home from France at the time the Jasmine Revolution. Last December, he was elected president with a huge majority. Upon hearing about the Oasis meeting, he decided to meet the representatives of the Committee to reassure them that the Arab revolution is not driven by Islamic fanaticism, but by democracy and a desire to integrate the religious rights of communities and the rights of individuals. “Freedom of conscience” would be protected, including the right to change religion or have no religion at all.

Towards freedom of conscience

What the Tunisian president said challenges a (pessimistic) view that is widespread in the West, namely that the Arab revolution is inevitably moving towards the Islamisation of North Africa and the Middle East. Marzouki was critical of this (Islamophobic and neo-colonialist) stereotype that is prevalent in Western media.

Still, some months ago the president did defend the conviction of two men who had been accused of “insulting the sacred” by posting images deemed offensive of Muhammad online. At the same time, he slammed the conviction on “blasphemy” charges of the makers and actors of the movie Persepolis in which God is shown reciting like any other actor.

For Marzouki, such dithering is inevitable in a country negotiating a path towards a certain “balance”. From this point of view, Tunisia’s journey is no different than that of other countries, torn by conflict over the place to be given to the sacred in society.

To illustrate his point, he mentioned the debate in the United States about Article 1 of the constitution (which mentions God the Creator that some would like to remove), abortion and homosexuality, a demonstration by French Catholics against an offensive show, and tensions in Italy over the presence of crucifixes in public places.

As he received a round of applause from those present at the meeting, the president reiterated that the foundations of his country must be freedom of conscience and that religious affiliation is no business of the state.

Social problems in Egypt and Libya

The situation is more contradictory in other countries stirred by the Arab revolution, Egypt above all. Here, a political majority constituted by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists is engaged in a power struggle with the military and economic power of the Armed Forces.

Various witness who spoke at the conference, including the spokesman of the Egyptian Catholic Church Fr Rafic Greiche and Dominican Fr Jean-Jacques Perennes, noted that many of the promises that came out of Tahrir Square (full citizenship for Christians and Muslims, freedom to build places of worship, an end to discrimination) did not materialise.

Fr Samir Khalil pointed out that in Egypt people voted for Islamic parties because they have no point of reference to decide other than their religious affiliation. What is more, 40 per cent of the population is illiterate.

Nevertheless, speakers said that among Egyptians, people are increasingly wary of “religious” discussions (on what is lawful or unlawful, on anti-Christian bias or morality). A majority of them would like to see political leaders, Muslim included, work to solve problems like unemployment, housing, public transit and education.

Unlike Tunisia, the revolution in Egypt has not moved forward by much. The country is in a stalemate with the military and the Muslim Brotherhood involved in a power struggle.

The same is true about Libya. After the fall of Gaddafi, the country has been affected by low-intensity chaos. Promises of freedom by the National Transitional Council have not yet brought security and peace to Christian communities, constituted mostly by foreign workers, often exploited and without union protection.

The Arabian Peninsula and Morocco

The sorest situation is in the Arabian Peninsula. In places like Saudi Arabia, the revolution was stopped in its track by sticks (repression) and carrots (financial handouts to the population). In the United Arab Emirates, the secret services engaged in “discrete but effective” controls, nipping in the bud any potential demonstration.

The situation of the area’s Christians, all foreigners from India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, etc, is well known. In Saudi Arabia, they are denied freedom of worship. In the Emirates, they can celebrate Mass, but are denied any public expression of their Christian faith.

Out of fear that even this modest right might be taken away, Christian communities dare not baptise Muslims who might want to join the Catholic Church.

The same is true in Morocco where the Arab Revolution was pre-empted by King Mohammed VI’s attempt at reforms. Under the new constitution, Christians are guaranteed freedom of worship, but here too it would be unthinkable to have Muslims baptised and become Christian. Conversely, in the words of Mgr Vincent Landed, bishop of Rabat, Catholics in the North African country do try to be close to every initiative coming from youth, women and men in search of “peace, justice and reconciliation” in society.

No Syrian representative came to this year’s Oasis meeting, perhaps due to that country’s tense political and humanitarian situation.

For Mgr Philippe Brizard, a former director of Oeuvre d’Orient, the revolution in that country was hijacked by the Gulf States and the West, whose goal is to remove Syria from the Iranian and (Shia) sphere of influence. This has turned the region into an arena for “big power” politics.

Some shared features

The ‘Jasmine Revolution’ has unfolded differently according to the countries it has affected. Results have thus been different, yet they share some features.

Prof Olivier Roy, from the European University in Florence, tried to list a few, noting their stable nature, from which “it is impossible to go back”.

1) First of all, the Arab revolts represent the end of politics centred on a charismatic leader, the saviour of the fatherland;

2) They mark the end of Islamist and pan-Arabist ideologies;

3) Although Islamic groups do exist, the demands for justice, jobs and a good economy have put to an end the slogan ‘Islam is the solution to everything’;

4) A certain patriotism (but not nationalism) has been encouraged and the rhetoric about the Ummah (the world’s Muslim community as a single entity) has been waning;

5) The Palestinian cause has taken a backseat, almost disappearing from slogans;